In Your Eyes
by Kitten Kisses
Summary: ActionAdventureRomanceSuspense They've been following her. She tries to escape in her car, but ends up skidding on ice and slamming into a tree. Misao Makimachi is now blind. AoshiMisao. [Unfortunately, Discontinued.]
1. Default Chapter

Hi, a new story......what else is new? Did you know that you should *never* eat a carrot and then drink milk? Ugh......  
  
In Your Eyes-Action/Adventure/Romance/Suspense  
  
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She swerved, pushing the little car beyond its limit. He was still behind her. She swerved down another street- barely missing a semi-truck- and slammed on the brakes just in time to avoid a street pole.  
  
Glancing in her review mirror, she noticed that the driver in the large green SUV was still behind her. She pressed the gas pedal down, and the car lurched forward again. The green SUV stayed on it's tail however, and she struggled with the car to make it go faster.  
  
It was either go faster or lose her life.  
  
It was evening, and, being the middle of winter, the sky was dark with light stars scattered across its glossy surface. The ice on the road wasn't helping her any. Everyone else was going under 30 mph, and she was reaching speeds of 65.  
  
No, it wasn't safe. But she had to get away. An opossum crossed the road in front of her, and she swerved to the right, slamming on her brakes. A sickening crunch made her wince inwardly- she had always loved animals- but she kept on going.  
  
The light ahead turned red, but she didn't have time to stop. She slammed a hand on her horn to warn the other motorists, and they all skidded to a stop to allow her passage. The green SUV nudged her back bumper, and threw her car off-balance.  
  
Her brakes screeched as she slid into the next lane over, and she wrestled with the wheel, trying to pull her car back into the proper lane. She didn't want to kill anyone.  
  
He pulled up beside her slightly, and leaned to the right- pressing the side of his front bumper against the left side of her back bumper. The beat-up Dodge slid out of control and went spinning across the asphalt.  
  
The back half of the car hit a pole, but she pulled forward with a screech. The SUV was in front of her, and she slammed the vehicle into reverse, spinning around in a left circle, and pushed it back into drive to escape. A slow-moving semi was ahead, and she started to pull around him but a van came from the opposite direction.  
  
Traffic wasn't heavy, and she swerved around the semi just in time to avoid a whole stream of traffic. She sighed in relief and lurched forward quickly. She had to get home, she had to get home.  
  
She pulled forward quickly, and didn't stop for oncoming traffic. Her brakes squealed as she sailed through an intersection and across a patch of ice. She barely avoided another small car, and she fishtailed to the right when she went around the corner.  
  
"Almost home, almost home," she chanted to herself, and turning down a dimly-lit street. It wasn't the best part of town, but it certainly wasn't the slums. She slowed to the speed limit, and crept silently into a parking space. Her house was a block away, but she didn't want *them* to find out where she lived.  
  
She locked the doors to her car and crept around the other parked vehicles, twisting and turning so as to not be seen by anyone. She dashed behind the bushes on the front lawn and came to a halt. A startled yelp passed her lips and she backed up into the chain-link fence.  
  
The green SUV was parked in her driveway.  
  
She turned around to flee, but ran into something hard. The fence. She tried to pick herself up, but someone stepped on her hand. She yanked at her hand to free it, but a boot heel ground it into the asphalt.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" a voice asked. His voice was deep and grating, and it sounded like he'd smoked a few too many. He put all of his weight onto her hand, and she could feel one of her fingers snap under the pressure.  
  
She gasped lightly, and a smirk lit up his face in the dark. "Oh, it hurts does it?"  
  
"Shut up," she growled, and twister her body around, knocking him off balance. She snatched her hand back and took off down the street. She had to get back in the car.......  
  
She was sick of driving. Her back ached, her forehead throbbed, and now she had a broken finger or two. She heard the pounding footsteps behind her, and she sped up, her small tennis-shoes tapping the ground lightly. She knew some martial arts.......but she'd fought this guy before, and she was no match for him. And her kunai were all in the trunk of her car.  
  
After a few minutes, she'd reached the driver's side of her car. She struggled to get the keys out of her pockets. The slightly tight white shorts weren't helping her any. She finally grasped them and shoved them into the lock. The footsteps were getting closer.......  
  
She slammed the door shut behind her and pulled on her seatbelt. The man grabbed the door and pulled it open, but she grabbed the inside handle and slammed it quickly shut- locking it as well.  
  
She started the old car up and pulled out, almost clipping the small pickup in front of her. A loud roar came from behind her, and she glanced in her rearview mirror to see the green SUV again.  
  
So, there were two of them now?  
  
Her mouth pulled into a grim line, and she pushed the gas pedal to the ground. The old car lurched forward, narrowly missing a few motorists at a traffic light. They all sounded their horns at the two of them, and she quickly skidded back into the lane on the right.  
  
He rammed into her back bumper, and the old Dodge bucked into the air. How much more abuse could the car handle?  
  
She headed for the populated section of town. The traffic would hopefully be more full, and maybe there'd be a police car stationed somewhere. She weaved through the evening traffic and onto the highway. There were fewer motorists here, but she knew that a cop was stationed right down the street.  
  
She was about half a mile away when her car hit a patch of black ice. The SUV hit her car and sent it spinning out of control. She wrestled for control, but the car wouldn't hear of it. She spun around in circle after circle, and a large Chevy pickup slid to a halt only a foot away from her.  
  
She glanced down at her speedometer, and it showed 72mph. She gasped and slammed on her brakes to avoid high speeds, but the ice on the road only increased her speed. She looked around frantically, and saw a guardrail ahead.  
  
She spun the wheel and clipped the guardrail. She could feel it start to give way before the Dodge went spinning around in the other direction, lights flashing crazily across the sky. Her eyes opened wide to reveal a tree right in front of her.  
  
There was nothing she could do. Even as the metal in the front of the car started to fold under the pressure, all she could do was stare wide-eyed. She felt the metal fold around her legs, the crushing pressure making her throat open in a scream. The windshield folded in and broke, glass shattering all over her. And all she could do was stare wide-eyed at the steering wheel as it came up to meet her face.  
  
A crunch was heard in the back of her mind, and the car horn sounded as her face slammed into it. Squealing tires, and then.......a scream. She faintly recognized it as her own, and reached the only hand that wasn't stuck to her forehead. The broken fingers were numb, but she could feel a warm sticky liquid drip onto her neck.  
  
She saw the night sky, the blurry stars, and lastly, the crushed vehicle before her. Her eyes took in the blood, and her mind grasped the pain. Her eyes rolled up, and her head fell limply to the side, black hair falling limply beside it.  
  
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"I sure hope Megumi left the door unlocked......."  
  
"If she didn't, we could always camp out in the truck!"  
  
"Kenshin, I'm *not* camping out in a truck. Though it might be fine......."  
  
"See Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin smiled. "It might be fun. But, more than likely, Miss Megumi left the door opened."  
  
"Either way, I need to get back," Kaoru told him. "C'mon Kenshin, let's go."  
  
"Sure," he answered, climbing into the driver's seat. "Let's get you home so I can go home and get some sleep......." He brought a hand to his face and yawned. "It's almost 11:00pm. I've got to get up at 6:00."  
  
"And I've got classes tomorrow," Kaoru smiled.  
  
They were almost to the house that Megumi and Kaoru were renting when Kaoru put her hand on Kenshin's arm.  
  
"What's that?" she asked, pointing ahead. "Something's going on!"  
  
A small Dodge was going too fast for the road conditions, and the big green SUV behind it nudged the back bumper. Just then, the car went out of control and went spinning.  
  
The SUV sped off in the other direction- towards town.  
  
"They're going to crash!" Kaoru gasped. "And at the speeds they're going, they probably won't live......."  
  
Kenshin didn't say anything. He slammed on his brakes when the car spun in front of him.  
  
"It's a *girl* Kenshin, and she'll die!"  
  
He saw the car clip a guardrail, and breathed a prayer of thanks that it hadn't careened down the sharp slope. The girl driving would certainly die if she fell down there.  
  
Kaoru flinched and clenched her hands together when she saw the vehicle hit the tree going at a slightly slower speed than before. She bet that the crunch of metal was heard at *least* a mile away- if not more.  
  
The girl's horn sounded and then she screamed. Even Kenshin flinched at the sound. The scream was hysterical, as if she was terrified of what was going on. Kaoru pushed Kenshin.  
  
"Come on! She needs help! Call 911!!!!" she yelled, jumping from the Chevy truck onto the road. "Put on your hazard lights!"  
  
She dashed towards the wreck, and stopped at the driver-side door. The girl inside had black hair that was pulled back into a braid-though the braid was mused from her ride in the car.  
  
Blood covered the front of her shirt and face. Glass littered the floor of the car, and the metal where the gas pedal should have been was pushed in around her legs. All Kaoru could see was the blood pooling on the floor.  
  
"I hope she isn't paralyzed," she muttered. "That would be worse than death."  
  
"Be glad that she's alive," Kenshin muttered from beside her. "The police and the rescue team will be here soon."  
  
"Okay." She walked away from the wreckage and noticed that the trunk of the Dodge was popped. Deciding to check out what was inside, she walked towards it. 'Maybe I can figure out who this is.......'  
  
In the back of the trunk she found several boxes. In the first box, she found several outfits. In the second box there were a few personal belongings. She found a photo album of a little girl with sparkling ocean- sprayed eyes. A wallet was on the bottom. All it contained was $5.oo, a library card, and a drivers license.  
  
She picked up the license and checked the name and age of the girl. Misao Makimachi, will be 21 on November 26, 2002. So, this girl's name was Misao, and as of almost a month ago, she was 21 years old.  
  
"Kenshin!" Kaoru cried. "She's only two years younger than me! Isn't it awful?!"  
  
"That it is," Kenshin answered, and a police car pulled into the site- disturbing their conversation.  
  
"Did you find her identity?" the officer asked, the tag on his uniform catching the light of the moon. Saitou Hajime.  
  
"Yes Mr. Hajime. Her name is Misao Makimachi, 21 years old," Kaoru informed him.  
  
"Good." He walked towards the wreck and peered in. A second later, his head was back out. "She's pretty messed up......." he muttered.  
  
"I wish that rescue crew would get here faster......." Kaoru muttered.  
  
"Here they are," Kenshin said, placing his hand on Kaoru's arm.  
  
"Good," Kaoru sighed with relief. "Hey Mister!" Kaoru yelled, waving her arms. "Which hospital will you be taking her to?!"  
  
"Mercy Memorial!" one man called back.  
  
"That's where Megumi works! She's working the night shift tonight. Hey Kenshin," she pondered. "Maybe we should go to the hospital with Misao. There's no contacts listed in her wallet. I wouldn't want for her to wake up all alone......."  
  
"That we wouldn't......." Kenshin chewed on his lower lip. "I guess I could call in today. But if she isn't awake by the end of the day, we can't stay any longer."  
  
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end chapter 1. Woo-hoo. I hope that this was at least just a little interesting. I just thought up this idea one day and decided to write it. ^^;; Anyway, I hope you like it!! ^_^  
  
~Okashira Misao 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much for the reviews!! *bows* *salutes* This story got the least amount of all my new A/M stories, but I'm not deterred! ^__^ I'll keep on writing!! Lol. I'm going to try terribly hard to keep the suspense in-check. It's hard though, but I'm working on it! =^.^= I always want to make things all happy or romancy or something. Lol....... Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! ^.^  
  
In Your Eyes  
  
Chapter 2  
  
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She ached all over. She felt like she'd run headlong into a brick wall going 500 mph. She heard people talking, but it sounded remotely like babbling to her. Her mind slipped back into the pool of empty nothingness.  
  
"I'm so relieved she's going to live Kenshin!" Kaoru sighed. "I feel so bad for her though, she's really messed up."  
  
"But her legs were only scraped up. At least she didn't break them."  
  
Kaoru nodded. "That's true. But she's going to have an awful lot of scars, I'd say."  
  
Kenshin put his hand on her shoulder. "She's alive, that's enough. Be thankful for that."  
  
"Kaoru?" a woman asked. She wore a doctor's uniform.  
  
"Megumi? Will she be okay? I mean, she won't be paralyzed or anything, will she?"  
  
"No," Megumi shook her head. "But there is one complication. Well, several actually. First of all, she's not got anything to her name, except for her wallet, and a few personal things. She doesn't live anywhere. She used to live in a house with her parents, but they were murdered. The killer still hasn't been found. After her parents' deaths, she left, and rented a house. She rented it for such a short time, she never even moved IN. Everything she ever owned was in the trunk of that car."  
  
Kaoru shook her head. "Poor girl......." she muttered. "All alone."  
  
"Any husband or boyfriend?" Kenshin asked.  
  
"Nope. In fact, she's not got anyone listed to contact in case of an emergency. Just her parents, but they're dead. And the only other complication is......."  
  
"What?" Kaoru asked.  
  
"She's blind."  
  
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Misao's eyes stayed unfocused- straight ahead. "But......." she croaked. She couldn't be blind....... She had nowhere to go, no one to stay with. She was ALONE.......BLIND.......and THEY would find her. Find her and kill her. But maybe it was for the better now. She couldn't see anyway.  
  
"But it's only temporary. We're pretty sure. If you don't get your sight back within two years, then it's permanent."  
  
"Temporary?" she asked.  
  
"Yes." The woman doctor put a hand on her shoulder. "I know your predicament. You've got nowhere to go. Well, I have a friend named Kaoru- she and her boyfriend brought you here- and we live together in a small house. If you want, you could move in with us until your sight returns."  
  
"Why?" she questioned, voice slow. "I don't understand. I don't even know you."  
  
"We want to help you Misao......."  
  
Misao's eyes widened. She still knew what it was like to have eyes. She'd only just lost her sight. Her eyes were mostly focused, but not completely. She could still cry, and anger could still come out through her eyes.  
  
'That was what they said before.......'  
  
She'd been there for her parent's deaths. They'd told her that they wanted to help her. How could they have helped by killing her parents? She felt tears prick her eyes. And the tears flowed freely down her face a second later.  
  
Tears for her parents, tears of hatred for them, and tears because two strange women were willing to let her move in with them.  
  
Another woman came in and introduced herself as Kaoru. "I'm Kaoru Kamiya, Misao. I'm in college right now to be a physical therapist. And Megumi's a doctor. We'll help you on the road to recovery."  
  
"No matter how long it takes," Megumi finished. "But first, your injuries have to heal up. We'll bring you home with us at the end of seven days."  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Misao looked around her. Not that it did her any good anymore. She still couldn't see anything. It had been three months since the accident. Three months of relative peace. Megumi was a very nice woman, and did everything she could do to help.  
  
Kaoru and her boyfriend Kenshin were very nice too, and tried to help her get around town occasionally. But most of the time, she stayed at home. She'd finally memorized the layout of the house, and could walk through it without running into something.  
  
But she still had her cane. It embarrassed her beyond belief. To be known as a....... cripple was just....... too much for her to handle. So she only used it when she went out alone. Which was almost never. Megumi and Kaoru didn't want her getting lost in the city.  
  
But she was sick of it. She was 21, three years an adult, and she would stay that way. She didn't need to be treated like an.......invalid.  
  
She pulled out her cane and started down the mid-March road. It was a cool day, but the sun shone happily. She wore a jacket and jeans, though she didn't know what the colors were. Megumi usually picked out her clothes for her anymore. That way she wouldn't put on anything mismatching.  
  
She didn't wear sunglasses. What was the point? Why would you bother to hide your eyes from a bunch of strangers who would never see you again?  
  
You wouldn't.  
  
She started down a street where she knew the library was located. No, she couldn't read, but she liked the quiet that surrounded the place. Especially in the garden out back. She made her way into and out the back door of the silent building without bumping into anyone. The garden was such a nice place. Sakura trees bloomed prettily everywhere and there were a zillion birds singing. She had to find a bench to sit on before she could do anything.  
  
A bird sung rather loudly from behind her, and she spun around to listen, hitting something soft. Her red-and-white-tipped cane went spinning behind the tree and she fell on her back.  
  
"You really should watch where you're going," a slightly irritated voice told her.  
  
"S-sorry," she stuttered. "I can't."  
  
"What?" he asked, grasping her hand and hauling her to her feet.  
  
"I can't see......." she muttered, looking down at the ground. Then her embarrassment turned to anger. "And it's all his frickin' fault. He killed my parents, tried to kill me, and now I can't see a damn thing!"  
  
"Who?"  
  
She cocked her head towards him, eyes focusing on his shoulders. "Did you know that you could be holding a gun to my head right now, and I wouldn't even freaking know it?"  
  
One eyebrow raised in the air. "WHO killed your parents?" he asked. 'This could be about the guy we've been looking for!' he thought. 'Looking for, for over three years.......'  
  
Her eyes lifted up. "You're tall," she stated. "I don't know how tall though, because I CAN'T SEE YOU! In fact, I can't see the ground, I can't see the sky, or that bird somewhere behind me. I can't see trees, my friend's cat, the neighbors dog who likes to bark all night, or ANYTHING. And it's all Shishio's frickin' fault."  
  
She clenched her hands into fists in frustration. "You could be one of his men, but I don't care. I still know he killed my parents. I was THERE. The police told me I just saw something, but I KNOW better than that. They were probably his men too."  
  
'Shishio.......!' he thought. 'Finally, and by total chance too. We've got a lead on that assassin.'  
  
"And because of those bastard's, I'm BLIND. Oh, they say it's temporary, but I know it's not. I'll be blind forever. If I ever get my sight back, the first thing I'm going to do is track the bastard down and run HIM into a tree instead. Why couldn't he have just KILLED me!?"  
  
"Shut up." He pulled out his cell-phone and called one of his partners. "Yeah, Sanosuke? Get Kenshin. Yeah, meet me at the-"  
  
"Kenshin Himura?" she asked. "I live with his girlfriend. She's nice. And so is Megumi."  
  
"Takani?" he asked.  
  
She nodded slightly.  
  
"Sano? Never mind. Get Kenshin and meet me at Kaoru Kamiya and Megumi Takani's house. I've found someone who can tell us about Shishio."  
  
"You know Shishio?" she asked quietly, her anger dissipated. "You're not one of his m-men are you?" she stuttered.  
  
"No," he answered simply. "I would flash the badge at you, but you can't see it. So I'll just introduce myself. Aoshi Shinomori- FBI."  
  
"What?!" she squeaked. "But Shinomori-sama, I mean I didn't.......oh no....... Me and my big mouth......." she whined.  
  
"It's Aoshi," he corrected. "I am not my family's name."  
  
"Yes Aoshi-sama. I don't think the FBI needs to-"  
  
"Miss," he said. "We've been searching for Makato Shishio for three years. We need to find him."  
  
"Misao," she said automatically. "It's my name."  
  
"Very well. I'm going to escort you back to Miss Kamiya's house. Don't ever go anywhere alone again."  
  
"Yes Aoshi-sama," she answered meekly. "Could you find my cane please?"  
  
He went behind the tree and handed her the standard red-and-white-tipped cane. "Come on, we have to get going. Sanosuke and Kenshin will be waiting."  
  
"Is Kenshin a part of the FBI too?" she asked. "He doesn't look it."  
  
"He is. Sanosuke is too, but he's also a policeman along with another man name Saitou." He grabbed her arm and hauled her along. "It's not all that safe here," he told her. "Actually, it's not safe anywhere."  
  
And Aoshi led Misao out of the library courtyard. Meanwhile, a man sat on a bench reading a newspaper.  
  
'She'd rather have died that be blind?' he thought. 'I can make that happen little girl. This might be fun. She'll be fun to play around with so long as she can't see us. We can really scare her.......' He laughed to himself and folded up the newspaper.  
  
"Time to get started......." he growled.  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
End of chapter 2. Yeah, it was boring.......blah.......blah.......blah. ^.~ Review please, I'd appreciate it. Lol. It sux, I know. But if you'd like me to, I'll put up another chapter. ^.^ Any ideas? Let me know!! ^_^  
  
Personalies::  
  
Bee:: Congrats! You're my first reviewer!! Lol, nice review! ^.~  
  
Fallen Virtue:: Actually, w/ the seven periods is a mistake. OK, it's like this, when I type only three periods, it comes out on ff.net as one. So I have to type 7 to get 3 to show up. Confusing I know, but sometimes it messes THAT up too! *sigh* I'm glad you like it!  
  
Hitokiri-Miao-Miao:: Yeah, Aoshi showed up now though! *grinz* I'm glad you liked it, I'm still not satisfied w/ this chapter though...I don't like it at all...  
  
Hanyou Gohan:: Wow, you hit it right next to the nail! Mwahaha! The FBI!! Lol, it's all good...I don't like this chapter, but I'll let you decide! ^.~ 


	3. Chappie3

So, someone seems to like Misao being blind? I have to admit that it certainly is strange. ^.~ And quite unique. Just remember, a blind person's eyes aren't closed all of the time. They're just.......unfocused when they can't locate the source of sound.  
  
In Your Eyes  
  
Chapter 3  
  
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Sanosuke was bored. Well, WAS is the key term. Immediately after Aoshi's phone call, he wasn't bored anymore. Why did Aoshi want to meet Kenshin and himself at Megumi and Kaoru's house?  
  
It didn't make sense.  
  
But he was waiting for him. Sitting beside Megumi on the couch, and bored out of his mind. Kenshin was talking quickly with Kaoru, but of course.......they were going out. So why not?  
  
A swift knock on the door brought Sano to his feet.  
  
And Aoshi stood there with that girl that Megumi and Kaoru had brought home one day.  
  
Misao.......or something like that.  
  
He waved for the two of them to come in, and Kaoru looked up in surprise.  
  
"Misao!" she exclaimed. "What were you doing out? You had us worried sick about you!"  
  
"The library," she answered simply, and found her way to the couch.  
  
"But you can't read!" Megumi protested.  
  
"So?" Misao asked, slightly irritated at the statement. "I KNOW I can't read. Do you think I LIKE not being able to read or write or drive?!"  
  
Aoshi glanced at Sano and Kenshin.  
  
"Megumi, Kaoru, leave."  
  
It was an order, and the two women left, throwing glances over their shoulders.  
  
"So Aoshi, what's this all about?" Kenshin asked, leaning against the back of the seat he was occupying.  
  
Misao felt uncomfortable. She didn't know the three men that she was in the room with. She didn't even know what they looked like!  
  
She really hated not being able to see anything.  
  
"Misao," Aoshi ordered. "Tell Kenshin and Sanosuke who killed your parents."  
  
"Shishio," she answered quickly.  
  
She didn't miss the collective intake of air.  
  
"Shishio?" Kenshin questioned. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes!" she hissed. "I'm sure. I wish I wasn't though. I SAW it!"  
  
"But you're-"  
  
"Blind?" she asked. "I've only been UNABLE TO SEE for A FEW MONTHS! My parents died two and a half YEARS AGO!"  
  
"Calm down," Aoshi told her.  
  
"Calm down?!" she nearly screamed. "I'd like to see YOU 'Calm Down' if YOU couldn't see anything!"  
  
"Actually-" Sano started.  
  
"I can't do ANYTHING I used to do! I can't pick out my own clothes or anything! I don't even know what I'm wearing right now! I don't know what any of you look like. For all I know, you could all be three feet away with knives, swords, and guns on your hip, but I COULDN'T TELL EVEN IF I WANTED TO!"  
  
Kenshin sighed.  
  
It would be a long day.  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
"Wow!" Megumi breathed.  
  
"Yeah, she's SOOOO lucky!"  
  
"She got to walk home with Aoshi!"  
  
"That's not even fair," Kaoru pouted.  
  
"What?! You HAVE a boyfriend."  
  
"That doesn't mean that Aoshi's not cute!" Kaoru giggled. "Though I will only love Kenshin. Always and forever."  
  
"You'd better," Megumi warned.  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
"WOW!" Kaoru screeched when the three men had left. "What did they say?!"  
  
"They have to go talk to their superiors about whether I have to stay here or go somewhere else for more protection." Misao scowled. "I just wanna get my freaking sight back."  
  
"It really is a shame you couldn't see Aoshi," Megumi sighed. "He's really cute!"  
  
"So?" Misao shrugged. "What a person looks like doesn't matter. It's what they ACT like."  
  
"And tall."  
  
"I know."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I had to look UP to hear his voice properly, that's how."  
  
"Oh. Well, he's six foot two."  
  
".......and?"  
  
"What?" Kaoru asked. "You don't think he SOUNDS cute?"  
  
Misao shrugged. "I dunno, I've never had a boyfriend before. And I've never talked with guys much. Well, except Sou-kun."  
  
"Who's that!?"  
  
"Soujirou Seta, he's an old friend."  
  
"Friend huh?" Kaoru teased. "Are you sure?"  
  
Misao rolled her eyes (which she was perfectly capable of doing even though she was blind). "I'm positive."  
  
"Uh-huh, right......."  
  
"Don't be stupid," Misao told her.  
  
"Ohhohoho!" Megumi laughed. "Kaoru, you certainly are stupid!"  
  
"I was talking to you, Megumi."  
  
"Oh......."  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
Kenshin shrugged. "That's what Hiko says."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Hey, she's cute. I wouldn't argue if I were you!" Sano winked.  
  
Aoshi glared at the rooster head. "But why?"  
  
It was Sano's turn to shrug. "Don't ask. It's probably because he trusts you enough, or something."  
  
"Maybe it's because you could watch her more closely since you're not doing anything except for search for Shishio!" Kenshin suggested.  
  
"What about when I have to leave?"  
  
"Take her with you."  
  
"Yeah, what about to WORK."  
  
"Take her anyway. It's not like she'll remember anything. She can't see, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, I remember," Sano grumbled. "That's all she talked about."  
  
Aoshi smirked. "Fine, fine, tell Hiko okay. Though I still don't think it's right that Misao should have to live with ME."  
  
"Hey," Sano said, clapping Aoshi on the back. "Just make sure nobody kills her, and you can stare at her all day long."  
  
"Blind people know when you're looking at them," Aoshi cut in.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"My mother was blind."  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
sorry for the short chappie. Wow, Aoshi's mom is blind....... [er.......was]. I don't know anything about Aoshi's mom.......so.......yeah.  
  
Review please, and tell me if you have any ideas for what I can do. My brain's not really working today. Or yet this summer actually! Lol.......  
  
~~Okashira Misao 


	4. Chapter 4, sorry, ffnet was down for awh...

Er......why do you guys like this story!? I demand to know. It's sooo stupid.............  
  
Anywayz, the reason Misao said "he doesn't look it" is.......er....... She couldn't say, 'he doesn't sound it' cause it wouldn't make any sense. So, ......she can still tell approx how tall he is by where his voice is coming from. Lol! Sorry about that everyone.  
  
And Neal, yeah.......she probably wouldn't go off on Aoshi like that. But, maybe she was fed up with bumping into people/things/etc and not being able to SEE where she was going.......i dunno.......lol! Good point though.  
  
I still need ideas, cause I don't know WHAT to write next. Ah well, here I go anywayz, writing as I go.......no plot, no story.......  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
"Come again?" Misao asked, eyebrows furrowed.  
  
Megumi stared at her. "You have to live with Aoshi......." she repeated loudly.......and slowly.  
  
"I'm not stupid!" Misao protested. "Why me? I don't even know the guy!"  
  
Megumi shrugged. "How would I know? Hey, if I were you, I'd go for it! Getting to live with a hot sexy tall man......." her gaze drifted off as she thought.  
  
"What about the rooster?"  
  
"Eh?"  
  
Misao wasn't sure why they called him 'rooster' but.......it was funny cause he'd always get mad.  
  
"Yeah, you and him have something together, don't you?"  
  
"No. We don't have ANYTHING," Megumi protested. "Now Kenshin and Kaoru......."  
  
"That's cheating, changing the subject......." Misao told her. "Uhm....... but yeah. When are they getting married?"  
  
"Probably never. He STILL hasn't proposed, and they've been going out for what? Three years?"  
  
"You'd think he'd want to be MARRIED to her by now!" Misao exclaimed. "I mean, he seems so nice......."  
  
"He is," Megumi told her. "He's very nice. I think he's too nervous to ask her. Maybe he thinks that she'll say no."  
  
"She wouldn't," Misao said firmly. "Anyone with a brain would accept."  
  
Megumi nodded. "Definitely."  
  
Just then, the door creaked open and the said redhead walked inside. "Is Kaoru around?" he asked.  
  
"No.......she went to the store......." Misao told him, eyes not quite focused on his face.  
  
"But......." Megumi said slyly. "You can sit down over here and wait for her."  
  
"Thank you!" Kenshin said happily, and took a seat between the two young women.  
  
"We wanna know something Kenshin!" Megumi grinned.  
  
"Yeah.......why haven't you asked Kaoru to marry you yet?" Misao asked.  
  
"ORO?!"  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Hiko grinned and leaned back in his chair. He just LOVED matchmaking. He was THE master of hooking people up. Actually, he'd been the one to introduce Kenshin to Kaoru. And Saitou to Tokio.  
  
He was so proud of himself.  
  
Yeah.......  
  
He'd even made it so that Megumi and Sanosuke had met 'by accident' by the coffee machine outside.  
  
He was SUCH a genius.  
  
The only other person to hook up after them was Aoshi.  
  
And that would be hard.  
  
But that blind girl- Misao?- would do nicely. Hopefully, he would like HER. She seemed nice enough, even though he hadn't met her. But having her move in with him might prove entertaining.......  
  
Then he'd have to hook himself up.  
  
Just then, his cute little 'Hello Kitty' phone rang. His friend, Saitou, had given it to him as a joke. So, just to spite the undercover police-cop- FBI agent, he'd actually used it.  
  
And it was good.  
  
He picked it up and put on his 'manly' voice.  
  
"Hello?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah......." a slightly irritated voice said. "This is-"  
  
"Why HELLO Aoshi! I've been expecting your call!"  
  
This would be fun.  
  
"Good for you. Now why the HECK does she have to live with me?"  
  
"Because there's nobody else."  
  
"What about Sanosuke?"  
  
"He's got a girlfriend. I don't think Megumi would like it much."  
  
"Kenshin?"  
  
"He's practically engaged. How do you think Kaoru would feel if her soon- to-be-fiancé had a girl move in with him?"  
  
"What about Saitou?"  
  
"He's married. He's got enough to deal with already. With Tokio pregnant and all."  
  
Aoshi scowled over the phone.  
  
"This sucks."  
  
"No it doesn't. Tell me Aoshi.......could you bring her to work with you on Wednesday? You have to have her move in with you before Monday, you know. Right now it's.......Sunday afternoon! Better get to work!"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Is she cute?"  
  
"......."  
  
"Awwww, so she IS! I can't wait to meet her!" Hiko gloated happily. If all went well, Aoshi would have a girlfriend too!  
  
Aoshi rolled his eyes. "If I didn't know better, I would think that you're trying to hook me up with her......."  
  
"Who? Me?"  
  
"Yeah, that's what I said."  
  
The phone went dead and Hiko took the opportunity to gloat some more. Nobody even KNEW that he was the MASTER MATCHMAKER!  
  
Now, he'd have to hook himself up. That was the challenging part.  
  
Hm.......  
  
An idea popped into his head.  
  
"I think I'll ask Omasu out for Wednesday night, and ask Aoshi and Misao to come along!"  
  
He rubbed his hands together. "Let's see.......first, we'll go out to eat, and then dancing. This'll be great! Not only will I get a girlfriend, Aoshi will too!"  
  
"What was that Hiko-san?" a woman asked from the doorway. "Did you need me to run any copies or something before lunch break?"  
  
"Actually Omasu," Hiko grinned. "I wanted to ask you out for Wednesday evening. Are you free?"  
  
Omasu's grin covered her whole face. "Of course Hiko-san!" she squealed. "Where will we go? I need to know what to wear!"  
  
"Well, we're going with another couple."  
  
"Who?" she wondered.  
  
"Aoshi and-"  
  
"Aoshi finally has a girlfriend?!"  
  
"No, but there's a nice girl that I'm going to have him bring. I'll tell you all about it after lunch."  
  
"Alright," she agreed. "I'll see you then!"  
  
"Wait, why don't we go out to get something real quick?"  
  
Her grin widened. "Sure Hiko-san!"  
  
"It's just Hiko."  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
"Anyway," Hiko said over his hamburger. "Aoshi met this young lady in the library's courtyard. She said something about Shishio, and Aoshi immediately called Sano. Somehow, she knew Kenshin, Kaoru, AND Megumi."  
  
"Wow......."  
  
"Yep. And Aoshi brought her home. She'd been living with Kaoru and Megumi ever since the accident."  
  
"What accident?"  
  
"Well, apparently, one of Shishio's men- maybe even Shishio himself- had been chasing her in his SUV. She hit a guardrail, then a tree. She was pretty messed up. Kenshin and Kaoru had been driving when her car slid right in front of Kenshin's front bumper. They went to help out."  
  
"What happened to her?" Omasu asked softly.  
  
"Well, after Saitou came down, he sent for an emergency team, and they took her down to the Mercy Memorial. That's where Megumi works. They found out that she'd been blinded when her face hit the steering wheel of her car."  
  
"Poor little lamb......." Omasu said. "That's so sad. How old is she?"  
  
"21 years old."  
  
"That's so young......."  
  
"Yes. Well, Aoshi is in charge of making sure Shishio doesn't get her again. We're pretty sure he meant to kill her."  
  
"Oh! That's terrible!"  
  
"But in order to also protect Kaoru and Megumi, we can't have her living with them. It'd be too dangerous for the three of them. So we're having her live with Aoshi."  
  
"That's brilliant!"  
  
"I know."  
  
"So she's the one coming with us?"  
  
"I hope so. I haven't met her yet though, so I can't really say what she's like."  
  
"Oh....... I guess I'll have to hook the two of them up then......."  
  
Hiko looked startled. "And I'm helping."  
  
"You?" she asked doubtfully.  
  
"Sure. Who do you think hooked up Saitou and Tokio, Kenshin and Kaoru, and Megumi and Sanosuke?"  
  
"Oh......." she nodded. "In that case, let's plan!"  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
End of chapter 4! ^.^ Yay! This story is going along nicely.......sorta....... Some action here in a chapter or two, I hope. ^___^ I wonder how Misao will react being stuffed into a new house?! Geez, I guess you'll have to wait for the next chapter!  
  
Review please! MWAHAHA!! And if you don't, I shall make you my mind slaves!!!  
  
Yeah right.  
  
~~Okashira Misao  
  
PS. Hiko is SOOOO fun to write!!!! ^.^ 


	5. Chapter 5

I'm still in need of ideas for this fic. REALLY. I *really* need ideas, so if you have them, fork 'em this way. ^__^ I finished an A/M one- shot.......er.......no title yet, but whatever. Working on *another* A/M college fic.......lol! *rolls eyes* Hey, I'm working on it.......  
  
Alright. Here's a survey for ya'll. I want to know which A/M fic you like the best out of the one's I've started so far. See, I want to update everyone's fav A/M fic sooner, so I need to know. ^^;; So far, one person has said Mower-Girl Misao and Flying Without Wings. Soo......which one(s) will you pick? You can only pick up to two. The winner will be updated more frequently than the rest. ^__^  
  
Mower-girl Misao, Flying Without Wings, In Your Eyes, Little Is Much, .......so? Pick one or two that are your fav's, please. ^__^ I'd really appreciate it! ^__^  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
"Aren't you excited Misao?" Kaoru asked, rushing around packing Misao's things.  
  
"No."  
  
"Come on girl, ya hafta be! You getta live with a cute guy, and you get to hang around him all day too!"  
  
"Joy oh joy......."  
  
Kaoru stopped running around. "Come on Misao, cheer up a bit. It's safer this way anyway. And besides, Aoshi's a nice guy. He's just......."  
  
"An ice block?" Misao suggested, her eyes sparkling just a bit, though they were unfocused.  
  
"Actually, I was going to say quiet, reticent, keeps-to-himself, or reserved, but I guess that will do." She folded a shirt and slammed it into the suitcase. "Though I wouldn't say that to his face......." she mumbled lightly.  
  
"It's not like he'd say anything about it," Misao protested. "Right?"  
  
"Probably. Hey, did you want this formal dress? It's much too small for me, but I think it'd fit you nicely."  
  
"What color is it?" Misao asked immediately.  
  
"Olive green."  
  
"Ew.......heck no."  
  
"Just kidding. It's kind of a turquoise color. It's pretty actually. It goes down near to the floor and has spaghetti-straps. Do you want it?"  
  
"Sure," Misao shrugged. "I don't see why not."  
  
"Alright then," Kaoru said, folding it up and putting it in the 2nd suitcase. "What else do you have?"  
  
"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"  
  
"Hm.......well, here's a bunch of pencils and pens, and your .......book or whatever this is......." Kaoru dangled a green and white book. "The Book of Virtues.......why would you wanna read something like that?" she asked.  
  
"It's neat," Misao informed her. "And you'd better pack it for me, because it happens to be my favorite book."  
  
"Let's see......." Kaoru opened the book and started reading. "Page 329. 'I have often thought, that as longevity is generally desired, and, I believe, generally expected, it would be wise to be continually adding to the number of our friends, that the loss of some may be supplied by others. Friendship, the 'wine of life', should, like a well-stocked cellar, be thus continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom add what will equal the generous first-growths of our youth, yet friendship becomes insensibly old in much less time than is commonly imagined, and not many years are required to make it very mellow and pleasant......'......." She shut the book with a 'thud' and yawned. "How boring. How can you stand to read stuff that so.......boring.......?"  
  
"I don't. I can't, remember?"  
  
"Oh.......sorry."  
  
"Don't be. It wasn't your fault."  
  
Kaoru sighed. "I'm still sorry. Anyway!" she brightened. "Kenshin and Aoshi will be by any minute. I suppose I should hurry this up a bit, shouldn't I?"  
  
Misao shrugged. "Do whatever you like."  
  
"Come on Misao, don't be a party-pooper. It'll be almost like being married! Except for the obvious things......."  
  
"And the fact I won't see him......." she mumbled under her breath. "Forget it Kaoru. It's not like being married at all. It'll be more like prison. I have to go where he goes when he goes. How boring."  
  
"Ah, it's not that boring. You'll get to meet more people and stuff," Kaoru told her firmly, snapping the latches shut on suitcase #4. "Wow, time sure does fly. Looks like we're done."  
  
"Goodie."  
  
"You carry this one," Kaoru informed her, shoving the smallest suitcase at the blind girl. "I'll carry the 2nd lightest, Kenshin carries the 3rd, and we'll make Aoshi take the heaviest one. You know, the one with the computer and stuff in it. Haha......."  
  
"To get him back for making me move in with him?"  
  
"No," Kaoru said sourly, rolling her eyes. "Because he's physically the strongest. You're SUCH a pessimist."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"It wasn't a-"  
  
The doorbell rang, interrupting their thoughts. "COOOOOMMMMMMMIINGGG!" Kaoru yelled, flinging the door open. "Oh......." she groaned. "It's *you*....... What are you doing here Yahiko-CHAN?"  
  
Scowling, the dark-haired boy brushed past Kaoru into the house. "Well, wouldn't ya guess it!" he mumbled. "Dad went off somewhere again."  
  
"He did it again?"  
  
"Yeah, again. I wish I had YOUR dad Kaoru," he said wistfully. "Though, I'd probably be a busu just like you if I did!" he scampered away dragging a bokken behind him. "Heyyy!" he yelled from the bedroom. "Who's Busu #2?!"  
  
"What?" Misao asked dangerously. "What did you say little boy?"  
  
"I called you a busu, you busu......." he thought a minute and shook his head, realized how stupid the statement sounded. "And it's true! My goodness! How much do you EAT?!"  
  
"Yahiko-chan, leave Misao alone," she glared.  
  
"She's got a staring problem......." he muttered, walking away. "MY ELBOW ISN'T THAT INTERESTING!"  
  
"She's BLIND Yahiko-CHAN," Kaoru hissed. "Use some respect for goodness' sakes!"  
  
"She's still a busu, just like you, you ugly raccoon. So be quiet."  
  
"Do you want me to send you home chibi-chan?" Kaoru scowled. "I can, and I will you know."  
  
"You wouldn't throw your own cousin out would you?" he asked pleadingly, making the largest puppy-dog face he could.  
  
"You look constipated."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
*ding dong*  
  
"I GOT ITTTTTTTTTT!" Yahiko yelled, a carrot sticking out of his mouth.  
  
"Hey Red!" he grinned, recognizing Kenshin. "Hey Shinomori-cube......." he muttered, seeing the tall man behind Kenshin.  
  
"Good day Yahiko," Kenshin said happily (as usual). "Where is Miss Kaoru?"  
  
"In the kitchen. What are you two doin' here?"  
  
"Moving," Aoshi answered simply.  
  
"Wow, you and your famous one-word answers. WHO'S MOVING WHERE?!"  
  
"Misao's moving in with Aoshi," Kaoru yelled from the kitchen.  
  
"Wow congrats. When's the baby due?"  
  
Aoshi gave him a cold glare.  
  
"Well?" Yahiko shrugged. "People move in when they're A) A couple, B) getting married, C) Are married, D) Having, well, you know or E) They already did the dirty deed, and there's a baby on the way. Though I have to wonder how in the world you managed not to crush her. Wouldn't that.......kill her or something."  
  
Aoshi just glared at him again.  
  
"I HEARD THAT!" Misao yelled from the other room. "You're lucky I can't see! Otherwise you'd be dead!"  
  
"Yeah right Busu #2! I'd kick your-"  
  
Kenshin kicked his shin. "No bad language please," he stated. "Especially not with ladies present, de gozaru yo."  
  
"What ladies?" Yahiko asked, overlooking Kaoru and Misao both. "ANYWAY, before I was so rudely interrupted, I've been trained in the Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu so HA! I could whup you!"  
  
"Not if I had my kunai you wouldn't!" she yelled, walking into the room slowly, moving her white-and-red cane over the ground before she stepped. "You'd be pinned to the wall before you could even swing your sword!"  
  
"Let's just go," Kaoru muttered. "Here Aoshi, have fun!" she smiled, handing him the largest suitcase- which was more like a trunk.  
  
Aoshi just walked out the door. "Come on everyone," Kaoru yelled. "Grab it and go! You too Yahiko-CHAN. Carry this!" she shoved the suitcase that she was supposed to be carrying at him and grabbed up her purse. "OUT THE DOOR!" she ordered, and, when everyone was out, she locked the door behind her. "Wow, this'll be fun!" she remarked.  
  
Everyone else ignored her.  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Ehh.......this chapter was utter crap. Blahhhhhhh....... Anyway, review please!  
  
~~Okashira Misao  
  
PS. Thanx for the suggestions everyone! I'm still open to more, however! ^__^ 


	6. Chapter 6

Yeah, I know Yahiko was a bit.......rude and stuff, but it'll come back to haunt him later! ^^ I promise.......he'll feel very, very bad for what he said.......  
  
I have no idea what to write.......etc.......I'll just write as I go.......(don't I always?)  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Misao sat silently in the car all the way to Aoshi's house/apartment. She wasn't sure what it was....... And she wasn't about to ask. She still couldn't believe that the government was forcing her to live with a guy she didn't even know.  
  
But they did have a point.......  
  
She didn't want to put Megumi or Kaoru in any danger....... If they were hurt because of her, she'd feel awful about it. So.......perhaps it was better this way.......  
  
She shifted in her seat and sighed loudly. Now she had to live with an ice block who didn't especially like talking, and she'd have to find her own way around the house.......or whatever he lived in.  
  
She kind of hoped that it wasn't too crowded, whatever it was.  
  
It would be.......rather.......embarrassing if she was always tripping over things.......  
  
~*~  
  
After a nice ride lasting about ½ an hour, the car came to a halt, and Kaoru hopped out. "Come on guys!" she shouted. "Let's get Misao moved in!"  
  
Misao scowled. Kaoru acted like it was going to be 'fun' for her to move in with this guy. Oh yeah, joyful, she couldn't wait.......not.......  
  
Riiighhhttt.......  
  
"Come on Misao," Kaoru soothed. "I'll help you find your way around.......er.......at least, I'll help you find your room......." The older girl put her hand on Misao's arm and led her up to a building. "He's got a pretty big house," she informed the younger girl. "But it's spacious, so I don't think you'll have any trouble finding your way around."  
  
"Yeah right."  
  
"Don't be such a pessimist, for goodness sakes.......think on the bright side of things!"  
  
"What bright side?"  
  
"Well, uh, he didn't want this to happen either, so don't feel bad. His superior ordered him to."  
  
"Oh yeah, that really makes me feel wanted......." Misao muttered. "Thanks a million PAL......."  
  
"Uh.......sorry. I wasn't sure what to say. I mean, you get to live in a nice house and everything......."  
  
"Like I can tell what it looks like......."  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Hiko grinned and set his legs on his desk. Tomorrow would surely be fun. Aoshi had to bring Misao to work.......he'd meet her.......and then invite them for dinner Wednesday night.  
  
Omasu had suggested that they have a formal dinner, which would make both Aoshi and Misao dress up their best.  
  
OF course, Hiko doubted that Misao would even know if she looked good or not. But he was sure that Aoshi wouldn't let her leave the house if she looked terrible.  
  
He patted his phone and his grin widened. He just couldn't wait till the next day! Work was so boring....... Matchmaker Hiko just couldn't seem to wait patiently for the next day to arrive. He was anxious to hook Aoshi up.  
  
Poor, poor Aoshi.......  
  
The young ice cube wasn't exactly used to being teased, but Hiko would definitely make sure he got his share of teasing. As Aoshi's superior, he could do anything he wished.......and Aoshi couldn't do anything.  
  
He snickered to himself and leaned back in his 'executive's' chair. He just loved his comfy black chair.  
  
CREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKK  
  
*THUMP*  
  
'Or not.......' Hiko thought from the floor. He supposed that THIS was the only disadvantage of being so.......(he grinned) Manly.......  
  
"Are you all right Hiko?" Omasu asked, looking in the doorway. "I heard a crash and.......oh.......never mind......." she turned around and ran from the office.  
  
'Darn it,' Hiko thought. 'I made myself look stupid one time. Three strikes and I'm out.'  
  
And big ol' manly Hiko blushed.  
  
Well, it's not exactly cool when you fall out of your chair because you overweighed the back of it.  
  
He sweatdropped and looked at his.......half-ruined chair.  
  
Then he grinned. Now he had something to cure his boredom.  
  
This wonderful.......beautiful chair....... He could spend a few hours 'fixing' it. Oh yes, that was a great idea!  
  
He tightened the bolts on the chair in under two minutes. Now the chair was fixed.......  
  
So he loosened the bolts.......and retightened them.......and loosened them.......  
  
Etc, etc, so forth and so on.......  
  
Oh yes.......  
  
Three hours later, he looked at the clock on his desk. Yessss! His work day was over! Then he looked down at the chair. All the bolts were out, and the chair was in pieces.  
  
Darn it.......  
  
Twenty minutes later, the chair was back in place, and Hiko skipped out of his office with his 'coat'....... (haha, his mantle)  
  
Omasu was stacking papers neatly when he walked by her desk. "Good evening Omasu."  
  
"Good evening to you too, Hiko," she smiled. "Aoshi's supposed to bring Misao tomorrow, right?"  
  
"Yes." He rubbed his hands together and smirked. "I can't wait."  
  
"Me neither." Omasu smiled encouragingly at him. "I'm sure they'll hook up. We'll just have to.......give them a little.......push."  
  
Hiko nodded. "Sure, it'll all work out."  
  
"Well, see you tomorrow Hiko," she waved.  
  
"Wait."  
  
Omasu stopped. "Yes?"  
  
"Did you want a ride home?"  
  
"It's only a block, I can walk."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Oh, alright. I'll be ready in just a minute."  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
"Put this there!" Kaoru instructed, feeling like a drill sergeant. Though, with her camouflage pants and jacket, she rather looked like one.  
  
"Fine Busu!" Yahiko grumbled, hanging up clothes in the closet.  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
"Never mind......." he grumbled.  
  
"Aoshi, put this.......er.......never mind," she sweatdropped and giggled nervously. "I'll put this away. Uh.......put that away."  
  
Aoshi went to put the horse sun-catcher in the window, puzzled at what Kaoru had said.  
  
Kaoru sighed with relief and went to put away the suitcase that contained undergarments and such. She didn't want to embarrass her friend THAT badly.......  
  
~*~  
  
Half-an-hour later, everything was put away, and Misao was just sitting on the bed in the center of the room, staring off into space.  
  
"Come on Aoshi," Kaoru insisted, tugging on his arm. When they were in his kitchen, she started telling him what he had to do.  
  
"You'll have to pick out her outfits for her, so that they match. Otherwise, she'll pick out mis-matched things. Uhm......."  
  
"I know," Aoshi stated shortly.  
  
"Oh? Well, there was one thing I'm sure you don't know. Let me think....... oh yes, she's been having a terrible time sleeping anymore.......so you might want to give her something to help her sleep....... She likes to watch TV.......uh, especially comedy and animal planet.......okay?"  
  
Aoshi nodded in understanding.  
  
"Well good!" Kaoru beamed. "I suppose we'll be leaving. I've just got to say goodbye to Misao first. Oh.......and do try and be nice to her, alright? She's a pessimist and always takes things the wrong way.......so you have to try and be sensitive......."  
  
When Aoshi nodded again, Kaoru scampered off and ordered everyone to go back to the car. When she got to Misao's room, Kenshin was already speaking with her.  
  
"Miss Misao, Aoshi's not such a bad person you know. He hasn't had the best life, so try and be nice to him, okay? He understands, in-a-way, what you're going through......."  
  
"How?" Misao asked curiously. "I seriously doubt it."  
  
"No, he does understand, in a way....... but it's not my place to say how. You'll have to ask Aoshi himself sometime. Oh, and just so you know, everyone's nickname for him IS 'ice block', 'ice cube' or 'iceberg', so.......when you go with him to work, just call him that, okay? Some people don't know who Aoshi Shinomori is.......most of the other workers know him as 'ice cube' or something."  
  
He smiled and gave her a short hug. "Take care," he said, walking into the hallway. He saw Kaoru and smiled widely.  
  
"Thanks Kenshin," Kaoru whispered. "I couldn't have said it better myself." She walked into the room and gave Misao a hug, the latter actually returning it. "I'll come to visit," Kaoru promised. "Okay? Just take care of yourself, and try to be cheery, alright?"  
  
"I'll try......." Misao whispered.  
  
"Good. I'll come see you soon!"  
  
"Bye'," Misao waved, of course, she waved at the wrong wall, but Kaoru knew what she meant.  
  
"See ya Misao, and don't worry, living with Aoshi won't be so bad!"  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Uhm.......the end of this chapter? ^^;; Wow, 4½ pages.......oh boy.......that's short. Sorry, I think I have an idea for the next chapter, so......^__^ Yay!  
  
~~Okashira Misao  
  
PS. Any ideas? Let me know! 


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, hey! I'm getting slower with my updates, and I really am sorry for that, but it isn't easy trying to keep on writing so many things. =( I don't think I'll be starting any more fanfictions. XD Even though I have another idea for an A/M fic, I don't know if I want to start it or not.  
  
What do you think? I mean, this idea's good, I know that much, but I'm afraid that if I start it, it'll make finishing the other fics even harder. Right now I'm working on "Flying Without Wings" "Mower Girl Misao" "Dreaming Of You" "In Your Eyes" "Little Is Much" and "Aoshi-sama, My Stomach Hurts......." I think that the hardest fic to write is definitely "Mower-Girl Misao" and the 2nd hardest is "Little Is Much" XD I got the idea for this new fic from "Chicken Soup for the teenage soul on Tough Stuff" =P  
  
Onto the fic, since nobody probably read anything up there! ^.~  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Disclaimer: Heck, if I owned it, I wouldn't have to write this. I'd just ANIMATE it all! ^^  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
'Don't worry, living with Aoshi won't be that bad'  
  
Kaoru's words echoed through her head over and over again. 'Yeah right,' she thought. 'I don't even know the guy. Hmph!'  
  
She lay back on her pillow and pulled her hands through her hair. Hey, the only hairstyle she could manage was a braid. If she tried a ponytail, her hair would always be lumpy. But braiding was easy, and it was hard to mess up.  
  
The only problem was her bangs. They didn't fit into her braid, so they hung about her face messily.  
  
Not that it looked too bad. Kaoru and Megumi had never told her if her hair looked bad or good, so she always assumed it looked alright.  
  
It didn't matter anyway.  
  
Tomorrow morning, she had to get up at 6:30am to go to work with Aoshi. She scowled in distaste. 6-anything was too early to move from bed. She closed her eyelids, not that it got any darker, but it made her sleepier for sure.  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Aoshi was on the way back to his room from his study after 11:00 when he passed by his new 'charge's' bedroom. He'd decided earlier that day that he liked her attitude. Especially around Yahiko.......the little brat.  
  
Hey, if you couldn't see, you might as well make up for it by being genki and loud, just to make it seem that you know more than you really do.  
  
He looked in on his charge just to 'make sure she hadn't run away or anything'. She was sleeping half-on half-off the bed, her arms wrapped around a pillow, her head resting on another.  
  
It was all actually kind of cute. Sorta.  
  
He walked in silently, like usual, and stood over her sleeping form silently (like usual! =P). He pulled her back onto her bed and pulled her blanket up to her chin before making his way to her dresser.  
  
Like Kaoru had said, he did have to pick out her clothes, especially since she didn't know what color what was. Most likely, she'd probably pick red pants and an orange shirt by accident.  
  
So he got to pick out her clothes. What a joyful experience. He chose a pair of jeans and a green-blue shirt for her excursions the next day. He folded them up neatly and set them on the edge of her dresser for her to put on the next morning. Then he left, remembering.......  
  
He remembered how he'd done the same for his mother, picking out a dress for her was actually something he'd liked. It's not every day that you get to choose what someone else wears.  
  
One night, he'd picked out a deep blue formal dress for her to wear out to dinner. He'd taken a picture, and, when he opened his bedroom door, he saw the picture of his mother smiling widely, eyes perfectly focused on the camera; on him.  
  
His mother had not always been blind. Until Aoshi was seven- his mother 31- she had been able to see. Colors, rainbows, picnics, sun, rain, cats, horses, dogs, paper, pencils.......  
  
Mrs. Shinomori had loved drawing, but after she lost her sight, she lost her ability to draw as well. Granted, she could still doodle up things occasionally. Her favorite animals were dogs and horses. She loved drawing dogs, but she didn't have one of her own.  
  
One day, after he had turned eight, the German Shepherd down the street had puppies, and Aoshi had gone down to see if he could get one for his mom.  
  
The owners had wanted pure-bred puppies, but got instead a lab/shepherd mixed litter. They gave Aoshi first pick, and he picked the biggest, because his mother deserved the best. A month-and-a-half later, he went to pick up the dog, and presented the neutered male to his mother.  
  
She'd been happy to have a dog around the house, because when Aoshi was at school, the house was too quiet for her tastes.  
  
She named the dog 'Julian' and he became her best friend. Sometimes Aoshi felt a little left out when his mother seemed to be paying more attention to Jul than to himself. She had named Julian Jul for short, because she said that he and Aoshi were both her jewels, only, Aoshi was a sapphire- because of his eyes.  
  
He prided himself on being the 'sapphire'. Jul was Topaz, because of his coloring. Jul was a great dog- loyal, friendly, but also protective. Jul spent more time with his mother than he did, unfortunately.  
  
Being an only child of a blind woman, he did the cooking, cleaning, and shopping while his mother listened to the TV with Jul.  
  
But before he went to bed, he always got his before-bedtime kiss.  
  
"Goodnight Sapphire," his mom would say, kissing his cheek.  
  
"But mom!" he'd always protest. "I'm not a girl. Don't call me that!"  
  
But his mother's nickname for him had become a new side of himself. The softer side of himself that he would show to his mother, and only her.  
  
At school there were always the taunts and rude remarks.  
  
And the bullies.  
  
A lot of people seemed to think he was weird. They thought his family was weird, because he never brought his mother to parent-teacher meetings, and his mother never came to the school to sign him out either.  
  
He had gotten special permission to sign himself out.  
  
They thought that Mrs. Shinomori did drugs, or was so crack-headed that she couldn't think straight enough to take care of her own kid. One teenager had even had the audacity to ask him if he was a maid after school.  
  
Someone had seen him baking. There is nothing more humiliating than being treated differently by your peers. They are the people you grow up with, from kindergarten to senior year.  
  
So Aoshi had developed a mask of indifference for his school days. He went to school and did his work, skipping his lunch to do his math, and ended up with straight A's. But that didn't make anything better.  
  
His Junior year in high school was the worst he'd ever gone through. He had answered a History question wrong. He knew that he should have known the answer, but at the time, his mind was too tired from working past midnight at his job.  
  
His teacher had made him come to the front of the class and he had to stand in front of everyone. He had his mask, and he had made sure that it was in place when he turned to face his classmates.  
  
Not a friend sat in the room. The only person who would even talk to him was Sanosuke, and the gangster-type guy was all right, he had to admit. Sure, Sano never got straight A's, but he knew more than a lot of the people around him did. He knew about the real world.  
  
Aoshi never stuck up for himself. He let things happen. But Sano stood up for himself, and for anyone around him who needed stuck up for. And Sanosuke didn't exactly have a great home-life. The kid spent most of his time camped out under a porch because of his parents.  
  
Sano's mother tended to get drunk right alongside her husband, and they liked to wreck the house, along with anything inside that wasn't drunk.  
  
But Sanosuke hadn't been there to stick up for Aoshi then in front of the class of young adults who still had the mentality of first and second graders. The other man still didn't know about what had happened. He was never informed.  
  
The teacher had circled him like a vulture. This teacher was rather new, and still didn't know the real reason why Aoshi left school throughout the day, skipped his lunch, and signed himself out at various times.  
  
Rumors spread like wildfire.  
  
Aoshi had let himself zone out, and he had pretended as if this particular teacher was stupid, and wasn't worth his time. The whole time though, he had been listening.  
  
"Raijuta? Could you tell Mr. Shinomori what the answer is, please?"  
  
The biggest boy in school stood up. The Ultimate Jock is what some called him. He was well muscled and rounded out. "Yes Sir! The answer is '1864!'"  
  
"Well," the history teacher said, staring intently at the tall student before him. "There is an example of a normal child." Here he had paused, tapping his ruler in his hand. "And here," he gestured, pointing to the stoic Aoshi. "Is an example of a problem child."  
  
He smirked, and Aoshi ignored him. "What's the matter Mr. Shinomori?" he asked. "Was your mother too high last night to put you to bed at your bedtime? Or did you just grab a beer and get high along with her. Huh Mr. Shinomori? Did you?"  
  
After a few minutes of silence, the teacher continued. "Either that or you were born with an addiction to crack-cocaine. Or your mother was a drunk- ass prostitute who spewed you and seventeen other kids out, but ended up stuck with you because she's too loose to even be a whore anymore."  
  
Some of the class laughed, but some good upstanding students did not. This particular teacher was known to be rude, but this time he had gone a little too far over the bar. Some students were too shocked to do much but gape at the teacher.  
  
Of course, nobody ever went to the principal. The school would not fire him, and they wouldn't do anything about it. They couldn't, really. They had no other high school History teacher who could teach Russian History.  
  
And the students needed the class to graduate.  
  
"Drugs are bad Mr. Shinomori. I suggest that you stop using them or risk further injury to your brain."  
  
That particular comment got a few snickers circulating, but Aoshi ignored them as well. On the outside, he blinked, but on the inside, a tear rolled down his cheek. The statements that that particular teacher had made were very hurtful, and they did their damage.  
  
He sat back down with a thicker mask on, and a damaged heart. And the sapphire was buried down deeper from anyone who tried to see.  
  
He hated school after that, the only relief was meeting Sanosuke for lunch. He never contributed much to the conversation, but Sano would talk about everything around school.  
  
But one day, rumors started circulating about Sanosuke himself. About his mother and father, and how people had seen him living in junked-out cars and under porches. Sometimes in alleyways as well.  
  
So Aoshi had, in his own way, told Sanosuke that he was welcome at his house if he ever needed help of any kind.  
  
And the words that Sano had told him later, when they were alone, he held forever close to his heart.  
  
"I really appreciate it," Sano had said, his dark brown eyes sparkling with gratitude. "You're the best friend a guy could have."  
  
That evening, Sanosuke had come down to Aoshi's house, and Aoshi and his mother had helped the limping, bruised teenager into the house. After that, Aoshi and Sanosuke assumed a 'different' kind of brother-brother relationship, and Mrs. Shinomori became like Sano's adopted mother.  
  
Sanosuke had spent most of his days at the Shinomori's until one day Sano's uncle on his mother's side got custody after a court struggle, and Sanosuke changed his last name to Sagara after his Uncle Souzou.  
  
After that, Aoshi's life returned to nearly normal. Jul still took up most of his mother's time, he still went to school- by then he was a Senior- and he still worked long hours to help his mother pay the bills. But he was starting to look into colleges, and they cost a lot of money.......money he didn't have.  
  
Aoshi turned to look at the smiling photo and a slight smile graced his features. He truly did miss his mother.  
  
And he turned out the door and back down the hallway he came from- just to make sure that Misao was still all right. That was all. He was just going down the hall to check up on her and make sure that she wasn't having a breakdown or anything.  
  
That was it. There wasn't any other reason. Seriously. (are you doubting me, the author?! =P)  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Hiko stretched in his little puppy-dog boxers, munching on a carrot watching the travel channel. Tomorrow was the day that he got to meet Misao and see if her and Aoshi were compatible.  
  
The boxers were another gift from Saitou. That psycho cop thought that it was realllly funny to give people stupid gifts. What he didn't like was when those people actually liked them, or when they used them.  
  
One time Saitou had given Megumi a little pink power ranger, and she'd gasped and immediately set it on her desk in her office.  
  
Saitou hadn't liked that.  
  
That was exactly why Hiko wore his puppy-dog boxers. Not only that, but he really did think they were.......(is the manly Hiko actually going to say it?!) .......cute.  
  
Not that he would admit it to anyone, not even.......his pillow.  
  
He flipped the TV off and buried himself into his cute green blankets that weren't really cute but the author is lazy and couldn't pick a better word. The sooner he fell asleep, the sooner he could wake up to pair up Aoshi and Misao.  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Alright, Hiko sounds a little.......er.......psycho, and so does Saitou.......i mean, a pink power ranger? (I hate power rangers by the way. *sics Aoshi on them* DIIEEEE)  
  
AHEM! It's all good though. This chapter was a record! XD Nearly 6 whole pages! *ish proud* *isn't tired* *ish going to bed anyway* *ish* *ish* That word is freaky.......  
  
Goodnight, good morning, good afternoon, or whatever it is when you read this. =P  
  
~~Okashira Misao  
  
PS. You people had better leave me a review this time! The story's actually picking up now! ^^ More of the rest of the gang later! =D Bye-bye! 


	8. Chapter 8, sorry for the delay

Hey! I have decided that this fic will be the only one that I will continue. I am sorry, but after I finish this fanfiction off, I will work on finishing another, and then another until they're all completed. As Senior year is here now, I won't have time for typing every day. ^_^  
  
I took off a couple weeks or so to catch my thoughts, rest up, and play video games, and I have come to the conclusion (with the help of another ff.net member) that I have too many things, and not enough time. ^_^ I will work on just this fic, until I either finish it- or hit severe WB.  
  
Thank you for your support, and I know how much you guys want to see Hiko and Omasu's double-date! ^_^ *grinz* Thanks! I picked this fanfiction out of all the rest, because it isn't too hard to write chapters for. I mean, it's hard, but not too bad. The other fics, I have trouble cranking out two pages for. ^^;;;  
  
Oh, and about men having bad taste in matching up women's clothes? Aoshi had to do it for his mother! ^_^ he knows what goes together! ^___________^ lol  
  
~_+~_+~_+_~+_~  
  
Hiko's eyes flew open the next morning, and he jumped from his bed, throwing on a robe and dashing to the bathroom- all at the same time. Today was going to be gooooddd!  
  
Then he looked at the clock.  
  
1:12am shone brightly through the darkened room.  
  
~_+~_+~_+_~+_~  
  
The insistent 'beeping' of the alarm awoke Aoshi the next morning. He growled softly and swatted the alarm clock to get it to stop. Then he realized that.......oh no! He jumped up off of his bed and grabbed the clothes he'd set out the night before- heading towards the shower.  
  
Today was the day he had to take Misao Makimachi to meet his boss- Hiko Seijuro. He shook his head and removed his clothes before stepping into the steaming bathtub. Warm water felt very nice at 6-anything in the morning.......  
  
So inviting.......*sigh* He could fall asleep in water like this.......  
  
~_+~_+~_+_~+_~ (HAHAHA! This is soooo fun!)  
  
Misao awoke ½ an hour later to the alarm in her room going off. She jumped mentally and literally at the loud buzzing sound. She waited patiently for it to buzz three times and shut up, but it continued to buzz it's melody of nothing and so she was forced to get up and find the stupid thing.  
  
"Stupid clocks, I hate them......." she grumbled, stumbling around the room trying to find it. Finally, her hand hit something loud and buzzing that she assumed was the clock. She hit it, and the annoying contraption shut off. "Finally," she smirked.  
  
Since her alarm had gone off, she started searching for her clothes. Or at least a dresser. Something with clothes in it anyway.......she had to get dressed. But after a shower.  
  
She stretched and looked around with her hands. She'd heard Kaoru tell Aoshi about having to pick out her clothes, and she doubted that the man would go against his word.......so they had to be somewhere in her room. She just had to find them.  
  
Her hands roved over various pieces of furniture and her bedspread, searching for the clothes that she was positive were there. Her hands finally stumbled across a pile of clothes she recognized as a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, along with the correct underthings.  
  
Her face flushed brightly at the thought of someone picking out.......those.......things. Then her flush disappeared. She'd have to learn to get used to it anyway, so why not start now?  
  
Now, she remembered Kaoru say something about the shower being down the hall.......  
  
She moved around the room until she felt a doorknob. After awhile, she finally found a door, and she wrapped her right hand around the knob and pulled, shutting the door behind her.  
  
She started walking, and immediately ran into something.......her free hand searched and clasped around a dress on a hangar. She had walked right into her closet.  
  
She groaned and found the door again, this time walking out of the closet and then out of her room. That was better. She walked slowly down the corridor, one arm against the wall for support and guidance.  
  
Second door down the hall.......on her side....... She passed one door, and then two. At the second door, she opened it softly, shutting it behind her as gently as possible.  
  
Her body stiffened at the sound of lightly running water. The water wasn't gushing out of where it was coming from, just a trickle. Had Aoshi started bathwater for her or something?  
  
She silently huffed, clenching her teeth. She wasn't entirely helpless, she could start her own water. But.......it was still nice, and at that thought, her stiff body slackened. But he still didn't know how she liked her bathwater. So there.  
  
She made her way to where the water was coming from (she already knew that it was the bathtub) and kneeled by what she hoped to be the tub. She set her clothes down in a neat pile by her side and drug a hand through the steaming water.  
  
"Hm......how did he know?" she wondered, letting her hand float along. The steaming water felt nice on her tired skin. Well, it felt nice until it bumped into something.  
  
Her heart (and brain) froze at the feel of something under her fingers. Her hands, unbidden (riiighhtt) trailed up the incline of something she couldn't quite place. It felt kind of like skin, but also had bumps and pits in and on it as well.  
  
Wait a second. Her eyes widened slightly. Could she have.......walked in on Aoshi? Yes she could have, but wouldn't he have pushed her out immediately? Well?!  
  
She was confused. "What's going on?" she muttered to herself, pulling away.  
  
~_+~_+~_+_~+_~  
  
Aoshi's eyes fluttered open slowly, though, they snapped open after he realized that he wasn't in his bed.  
  
He didn't know what exactly had awakened him, but as he felt the brush of a hand against his chest, he knew that he had.......unfortunately fallen asleep in the bathtub. Now, what was.......  
  
He looked up in time to see Misao's questioning face a few feet away. Wait a second! Misao's.......face.......he.......bathtub.......naked.......  
  
He felt heat creep up his neck, spreading to his face rapidly. He was naked, in a tub, and there was a girl, sitting right beside him practically, only outside of the tub.  
  
How entirely embarrassing.......  
  
And Aoshi was not embarrassed easily. At least, he didn't show it. But inside, now, he was completely embarrassed. And his face actually showed it too.  
  
"Uhm......." he stammered.  
  
~_+~_+~_+_~+_~  
  
Misao jerked at the words uttered by who she was touching. Oh no....... she HAD walked in on Aoshi....... Her face flamed red in embarrassment. For once, she was glad she couldn't be accused of peeking. She couldn't see- after all.  
  
Though it might have been nice to get a little tiny itty bitty peek just to see what he looked like.......okay, that was as far as she let her thoughts get.  
  
"I'm so sorry," she apologized, words tumbling one after the other in a rush of embarrassment. "I didn't know, I mean, I didn't mean to......."  
  
~_+~_+~_+_~+_~  
  
That was when he remembered that.......Misao couldn't see. Maybe it was a good thing right now. He stopped his thoughts there. It wasn't a GOOD thing, nor was it a relief. It was a terrible thing- a person stripped of their ability to see.  
  
"It's okay," he reassured her, his voice as steady as he could make it in such a situation. Now what? Should he send her away? Wouldn't that sound rude though? There really wasn't a choice. Even if she couldn't see, it was still improper, wasn't it?  
  
And....... Taking a look at his new protégé, her face was redder than his.  
  
"Uhm......."  
  
~_+~_+~_+_~+_~  
  
"I'm sorry, I'll leave," she rushed from the room, leaving her clothes on the floor beside the bathtub. The door didn't shut behind her, but it didn't matter. It wasn't like she would be peeking in from around the walls or something.  
  
She felt so stupid. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she reprimanded herself. Next time she would pay more attention. Really!  
  
But at least he hadn't yelled at her. The only indication that he even was feeling anything was his changing breathing. He had been ASLEEP in the tub. It was hard to believe, but he was.  
  
And then his breathing had changed.......when he had recognized her presence, his breathing had picked up in pace, in a panicked hurry of embarrassment. Then, realizing something else, his breathing slowed, and he muttered something.  
  
His breathing told all. It was like a key to his emotions. Everything he felt came out in his manner of breathing. She wondered if she would be able to decipher all of the different patterns and meanings.  
  
Then, propped against a doorframe somewhere down the hallway, she wondered if his eyes were as open to what he was feeling as his breathing was.  
  
~_+~_+~_+_~+_~  
  
30 minutes later, Misao found herself clean and sitting in the front seat of a vehicle. The passenger seat, of course.  
  
"What, uh, kind of car is this?" Misao asked, feeling kind of stupid for asking. She hadn't even meant to ask it, it had just kind of.......popped out.  
  
"Trail Blazer," he answered simply, turning the key. A few seconds later, they were speeding down the highway on the way to where 'the boss' was.  
  
Aoshi was NOT looking forward to introducing Misao to his boss. He could already picture the wide grin on the larger man's face.  
  
"Oh," Misao answered slowly. "Uh, how long till we get there?"  
  
"Fifteen minutes."  
  
"Ah, okay. Is it big? Where we're going, I mean."  
  
"Aa." [yes]  
  
"Oh."  
  
The rest of the car ride was spent in silence. Misao closed her eyes, appearing to be asleep, but she played with a pen from the dashboard that she'd come across.  
  
After pulling into a parking space, Aoshi helped Misao out and locked his doors, pocketing his keys. He put a hand on her elbow and led her up the long flight of stairs.  
  
And he could have sworn that he saw Hiko's face through one of the windows on an upper floor.  
  
~_+~_+~_+~_+~_+_~  
  
Hiko peered through the curtains in his office, a wide grin etched on his face. The second he saw the familiar black Trail blazer, he yelled for his secretary. "Omasu! Hurry! Here they are!"  
  
The young woman scuttled inside and pressed her nose to the glass. "Where?"  
  
"Right down there, by the lightpole," he pointed out. Two little figures could be seen making their way to the building.  
  
"Oh! She's pretty!"  
  
"And short, just the opposite of our Aoshi."  
  
"Aw, I think they go perfectly together!" Omasu swooned, putting a hand on her cheek. "When are we going to invite them out to dinner?"  
  
"At lunch," Hiko decided. "That way they can't refuse."  
  
"How's that?" Omasu wondered. "I don't understand."  
  
"Well," Hiko tried to explain, slamming the curtains shut before Aoshi could notice him. "Even if they say no, their mouths will be full, so we can pretend they said yes!"  
  
"That's so mean!" Omasu gasped. "But such a cunning plan!"  
  
"Sh! Here they come!"  
  
Hiko sat down in his chair with his legs propped up and Omasu sat down across from him pretending to take notes for a letter.  
  
The knock at the door brought a huge grin to the couple's face.  
  
"Come in Aoshi," Hiko announced, yawning. After waking up at 1:12am, he couldn't get back to sleep.  
  
Aoshi stepped through the door slowly, a petite black-haired woman following him. "Good morning Seijuro, Omasu."  
  
"Good morning Aoshi-san!" Omasu chirped. "And who is this lovely young woman?"  
  
Hiko didn't miss the blush that spread across Misao's face. "Well, well," he chuckled. "Looks like you brought her after all. Good. Misao Makimachi, right?" he asked.  
  
"Yes sir," she answered slowly.  
  
"Well Misao- May I call you that?- I am Hiko Seijuro, but you can call me Hiko if you want, and this is my lovely secretary Omasu."  
  
"Lovely?" Omasu wondered.  
  
"Of course," Hiko insisted. "It's a pleasure to meet you Misao."  
  
"Likewise."  
  
"Please sit down!" he offered. "Omasu and I have to.......talk for a few minutes. We will return shortly."  
  
~_+~_+~_+_~+_~+_~  
  
The end, the end! WooT! More next week perhaps! Sorry for the delay! I know, I need shot for waiting so long......*Sigh* Anywayz, the next chapter is about Misao's day at the office, and the next chapter (after that) will have the double date, and some new characters! ^_^ (well, not NEW ones. Old ones that aren't in here yet. ^_^)  
  
Sayonara for now minna-san!  
  
+Pawprints and love+  
  
-Kitten Kisses aka Okashira Misao 


	9. Chapter 9 sorry for the wait

Uhm.......*peeks around corner* *ish sheepish* I'm soooo sorry for not updating sooner.......-_-;; Thanks to Liger for the e-card!! WooT!  
  
^^;; I'm doing so much lately.......with school starting up and everything sooo I don't have much time to write....... I've been worrying about so much lately....... the ACT and college....... It's hard to think about leaving home. Leaving all your friends and family.  
  
And I want to thank my friend Kagome for the stress-pig. Hehe, it's so cute. And I can smash him and he doesn't care.  
  
This chapter is just about the day in the office.......XD I'm so lazy lately....... I just know that I won't have all my fics finished before I graduate. And most of them will most likely go unfinished.......  
  
And in answer to someone's question.......Misao's version of SCD WILL get finished. Before Christmas anywayz........^^;;  
  
I'm glad you all like Hiko.......hehe, he's awesome. I'm working on a fanart for a contest (Kenshin this time!!!) and I've come up with a lot of cool ideas. Hehe. I'll try my best.......  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
"Well, what do you think?" Hiko asked Omasu excitedly.  
  
"They'll go soooo cute together!!" Omasu squealed happily. "She's so adorable!"  
  
Hiko nodded. "Shhh you don't want them hearing you, now do you?"  
  
"Oh!" Omasu's hands flew to her mouth. "My bad. Sorry. Now, how exactly should we go about this?"  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
'They're plotting something,' Aoshi's mind stated simply. But what? He really couldn't think of anything for Hiko and Omasu to 'plot'.  
  
Omasu would play matchmaker........  
  
And Hiko would try to get everyone else to do all the work.......  
  
But together? Nah........He shook his head free of those stupid thoughts and glanced over at Misao. She was staring off into space, her head cocked to one side as if listening to something nobody else could ever hope to hear.  
  
He remembered his mother doing the same thing. Only.......his mother had used music as her 'element'. She would listen to music endlessly, no matter what she was doing. And she didn't listen to old music. Classical and orchestra....... sometimes even popular songs. It just depended on her mood and the time of day.  
  
"What?" Misao asked, turning to look at him. It was as if she saw right through him. Clear to the other side of his existence. Even though she couldn't see her shoes, or the floor in front of her.  
  
"......." He stayed silent.  
  
She shrugged lightly. "You can't stare at me, I'll notice." Her head was still cocked, and her eyes still stared off into the future, but her expression looked smug. "My hearing's better than yours," she said, a- matter-of-fact.  
  
"Aa.......I know."  
  
"Huh?" she pouted. "Did you also know that I can 'feel' you watching me?"  
  
"Aa......."  
  
"How?" she asked, disappointed. She kind of wanted to get the feeling of uncomfortable-ness out of her stomach. She really felt that she didn't belong in a strange office in a strange building.  
  
"......." Aoshi wasn't about to tell a stranger anything. Even if she was nice.  
  
"Good morning!!" Hiko's voice boomed through the office. "Omasu and I had our discussion of important government issues and-"  
  
"How can you have conversations about government issues with Omasu if she's a secretary?" a voice asked from outside the door.  
  
"Ah! Good point boy!" Hiko grinned, moving aside to reveal a young man in dark blue slacks, a white dress-shirt, and a light blue hooded jacket.  
  
"Good morning Soujirou!" Omasu greeted from her desk outside. "Did you bring me those papers from the first floor?"  
  
"Yes ma'am I did." He paused. "But I have something for Mr. Seijuro as well."  
  
"Hiko," he interrupted. "Everyone calls me that."  
  
"Except that one boy!" Omasu called. "Yahiko or whatever. He keeps saying '43?! 43?! I don't believe it.' I wonder what his problem is......."  
  
"Oh yeah.......him....... I should have never said anything." Hiko put on a cheesy I'm-the-boss-you're-my-slave grin and took a small package from Soujirou. "Soujirou, this is Misao Makimachi."  
  
Soujirou's grin widened. "Pleased to meet you Miss Makimachi."  
  
"Uhm.......same here." Misao looked puzzled but plastered a small smile on her face anyway.  
  
"Are you hiring more people, or is it just me?" he asked Hiko. "There's a new girl down working the desk."  
  
"Oh! That's just Shura......." Omasu called. "They needed someone because Yumi quit."  
  
"Ah.......I see." The young man nodded and turned toward the door. "Good day Sir."  
  
With that, he left, the door shutting softly behind him.  
  
Hiko stowed the box in his desk and sat in his big chair. "Now Misao," he said lightly, addressing the green-eyed girl. "Omasu wants to give you a tour of the building. Would that be all right? I have to speak with Aoshi- san about some.......business."  
  
"Uhm.......okay......." she stuttered. Like she had a choice in the matter! She rose to her feet and took Hiko's outstretched hand- though it took her a little bit of time to find it. "Pleasure meeting you sir- Hiko."  
  
"The pleasure's mine Misao." He turned to hit a button on his phone. A few seconds later, Omasu came in and took Misao's arm. "Let's go Dearheart!" she chirped. "I have lots to show you!!"  
  
"Dearheart?" Misao wondered as she was dragged away.  
  
"So Aoshi......." Hiko smirked. "What do you think of her?"  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
The hour found Misao wandering up and down various corridors following Omasu's voice. Following it was hard though, surprisingly.  
  
"And here's Souzou's office!" she sang. "Good evening Souzou!!" she called into the office. "You can tell it's his office because of his door."  
  
"What? Because it says "Souzou" on it?"  
  
"No silly! Because his door is RED."  
  
"I .............see."  
  
"Goodie! Now, let's go down the hall!!"  
  
"This is.......uhm......." Quickly, Omasu looked up at a nameplate above the door. "Katsu. Hehe, it's his office."  
  
"Oh." Misao didn't sound enthusiastic.  
  
"Now we get to see all the little organizations that meet here!"  
  
"Maybe you'll get to see......." Misao grumbled moodily.  
  
"What was that Dearheart?"  
  
"Nothin'!" Misao called in a fake cheerful kind of voice. "Let's go 'see' those groups!!"  
  
"That's the spirit!!" Omasu linked arms and tried to get Misao to march down the hall. Much to Misao's dismay. She could just picture the people staring in the back of her head.  
  
Sure enough.......  
  
"Omasu, WHAT are you doing?"  
  
"Having fun Tae! That's what us women do anymore!"  
  
"Really.......I'll bet you do." Tae shook her head and lit out for the cafeteria before Omasu tried to make her join the 'march' of fun.  
  
Omasu shrugged. "Well, here we are. Office #1. Youkai headquarters. Don't ask. I mean, they're really really strange."  
  
Misao frowned. "How's that?" she asked.  
  
"There's no such thing as youkai.......you know that. And one guy has WHITE HAIR."  
  
"Actually, it's two." A man with long white hair walked in from across the hall and stepped into the office, a strange blue crescent-moon shape on his forehead.  
  
"Two, whatever. It's still stupid."  
  
"Feh! I heard that!" a voice yelled.  
  
"Heard what?" a child's voice questioned. "Tell me!! Kagome! Inuyasha won't tell me anything!"  
  
"Eek! Miroku! Keep your hands to yourself!"  
  
A crash was heard, and Misao sweatdropped. "Uhm......." she started.  
  
"But Sango, I love you!"  
  
"I bet you do. Hentai!!"  
  
An even louder crash was heard, and something came tumbling out of the door and landed at Misao's feet.  
  
The words 'Nasty pervert!' echoed down the hall.  
  
"Hmph!" the blob at Misao's feet stood up, and Omasu squeezed Misao's arm. "Uhm.......Miroku, you really should behave."  
  
"But I love her!" he protested again. Futilely I might add. "Ah, who do we have here?" he peered down at Misao. "Hey, you're cute!" he said, patting her shoulder. "Want my number?"  
  
"Whhhaaaaaaa?!" Misao squeaked.  
  
"Miroku!!!" a voice yelled from inside the door. A squeaky 'mew!' followed. "You'd better stop groping strange girls!!"  
  
"Feh! She's right!"  
  
"Yeah Miroku! Sango's getting jealous again!" *THUMP* "Hey! What did I do?!"  
  
"Hmph!" Sango yelled indignantly. "I am NOT jealous Kagome!"  
  
"Yes you are!"  
  
"Stupid humans!"  
  
"SIIIITTTTTT!"  
  
*THUMP*  
  
"Hehehe........" Omasu sweatdropped nervously. "Uhm........let's go across the hall......."  
  
"Who's here? Nobody.......strange, right?" Misao asked worriedly.  
  
"Well......."  
  
"What's that mean?!"  
  
Misao stopped to listen. From inside this office came strange sounds.......  
  
"Do it again!"  
  
"But I can't!"  
  
"Yes you can!"  
  
"Whatever......." the voice muttered darkly. "SPIRIT GUN!" A crash soon followed, and after that, a laugh.  
  
"Fools......." a deep voice mumbled.  
  
"Spirit World HQ," Omasu explained. "Don't ask."  
  
"Come on Botan!" a girl asked. "Can I borrow that cd or not?!"  
  
"Hold on! I have to kill this demon first!"  
  
"FEH!" came from across the hall.  
  
"Fools......."  
  
"Hey Yukina! I love you! Will you marry me?!"  
  
*WHAP*  
  
"Okay, that's just creepy......."  
  
"Anywayz!" Omasu cleared her throat. "Then there's the Pokemon HQ."  
  
"I don't even wanna know."  
  
"Too bad."  
  
"Pika! Pika!"  
  
"I am a pokémon master!"  
  
"That sucked Ash. Try again."  
  
"I am a pokémon master!!"  
  
"Use more 'umph!' in it!" a girl suggested.  
  
"Pika pika!!"  
  
"I AM A POKEMON MASTER!"  
  
"Yesss! That was super Ash!"  
  
"Thank you Misty. What do you think Pikachu?"  
  
"Doesn't anyone care about what I think?" another voice whined.  
  
"TEAM ROCKET?!"  
  
Misao started to back up. "I am sooo out of here."  
  
"But you haven't seen Dragonball HQ, Cardcaptor HQ, Trigun HQ, Digimon HQ or anything!"  
  
"I don't want to!!" Misao cried, getting more creeped out by the second.  
  
"Hey there sexy!" a slightly familiar male voice greeted. "Do you still want my-oof! Wow! You even want to sit in my lap!" Miroku beamed proudly with Misao in his lap. Unfortunately, she'd tripped over his staff lying in the hall.  
  
"Alright Miroku, let her go......." Omasu warned.  
  
"Ah darn!" Miroku pouted. "I'll never get married!"  
  
"You mean you won't ever have kids!" an indignant snort yelled from inside.  
  
"SIIIITT BOY! Shippo doesn't need to hear that!"  
  
"Yeah! Kagome, Inuyasha's been reading your health book again!"  
  
Misao dashed down the hall.  
  
Omasu gave chase.  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
"......."  
  
"I'll take that as a big fat yes." Hiko said two minutes later. "Ya know, she's kind of cute."  
  
"......." If Aoshi wasn't a stoic ice block of emotions, he would have melted and started a waterfall.  
  
"She's short."  
  
".......and?"  
  
"Ah-hah! I almost called the squad. I could have sworn that you had died sitting up."  
  
Aoshi cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh yeah. I forgot. You don't know what HUMOR is. Your assignment tonight is to look it up in the dictionary."  
  
"Sir!!" a rabid knocking came from the door.  
  
"What is it Sephiroth?" he asked calmly.  
  
A young boy with white hair walked into the room. "Darn wing!" he complained, pulling a single black wing close to his body. "Vegeta destroyed another office sir!" he saluted. "His friends are trying to calm him down."  
  
"Get me my coffee!" a loud male voice yelled, drifting down the hall. "Or I'll destroy the whole earth!!"  
  
Aoshi rolled his eyes slightly in his head.  
  
"Just get him some dang coffee," Hiko muttered, shooing Sephiroth out the door. When the office became quiet at last, Hiko sat down. "Now......." he started. "Where were we?"  
  
Aoshi sighed.  
  
"Oh yes....... What do you think of her?"  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
"Well......."  
  
All Misao heard was 'blah, blah, blah'. There was NO WAY she was going to go back there. Not in a million years. She grudgingly followed Omasu's voice down the hall back to Hiko's office.  
  
Just then, she heard a strange sound coming from one of the offices.  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
"Anyway Misao, they're really not bad people. It's just that.......well.......I really want to tell you, but I overheard it from Hiko and if I tell you it might get around so I can't....... Ohhhh! I sooo want to tell you. I wish you could understand. Inuyasha's a really good person when he puts his mind to it, and Miroku really loves Sango. Now the Spirit World HQ- crew is a little strange, but they're not so bad. Oh here we are!" she chirped, knocking on Hiko's door.  
  
Nobody answered.  
  
"Misao?" Omasu turned around. But Misao wasn't there.  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
Bwahahahahaha! Hehe, this is a.......continuation chapter! ^_^ Hehe! I know, you're all groveling right now for the next chapter........^^;; Yeah right, I wish. The next chapter might come sooner than expected, since I'm having a fun time with this now. hehe  
  
The genre's CHANGING! OMG! Yesh, it's also a mystery now! Happy happy joy joy! ^_______^ I've got ideas for this story, let me tell you. But any ideas you all have for other characters is veryyyyy much appreciated. ^_^  
  
The whole little thing with Inuyasha and crew, YuYu Hakusho and co., and DBZ is just for fun.......XD (ah, FF7 too!!) To make this organization appear even bigger.......^____^;; I know it's pathetic but.......yeah. I'm not sure whether to put them in later still or not. ^_^ I was thinking about making Inu, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku sort of minor characters that come in later to play a part. ^_^  
  
I need to know what you guys think. I don't want to confuse anyone who doesn't know who Inuyasha and co. is........^_^ If you would like them in the story, don't want them, or don't care, tell me please. ^_^  
  
I'd really appreciate it!  
  
I'm sooooooo sorry Dragowolf.......i know you're on of my most faithful reviewers, but I still cannot continue "Little Is Much". But I would like your advice on something. Should I delete it or leave it there anyway? Since it won't be completed, I'm wondering if leaving it there would be a good idea.......-_-;; Please tell me what you think!!  
  
Oh! And I have to watch myself, or I'll put Soujirou EVERYWHERE in the story.......XD Sou-chan's my 3rd favorite character. ^_^ My 2nd favorite male character.......^^ He's SUCH an intriguing character to write.......^__________^  
  
Well, before my a/n gets longer than the fic.......  
  
++Pawprints and luv++  
  
~Kitten Kisses aka Okashira Misao aka Sango ^_______^;; Me and my nicknames....... 


	10. Chapter 10, gomen ne once again

Okay, so I'm finally back. =) It certainly is about time, I know.-_- If I don't update for a long while, continually bug me until I do. =P Lol  
  
I don't want this fic to end up like a piece of crap, but I have a feeling that I'll ruin it.*sighs* I always end up doing that when I try and write something and get bored of it halfway through.-_-;;  
  
So if it starts to suck, be SURE to tell me. =D Thanks.  
  
Onto the fic.lol, I'm trying not to make it a mish mashed crossover.......XD  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
Omasu shook her head and started to backtrack....... Now, how had Misao managed to get lost so quickly? Er........she was blind.......so maybe that had something to do with it.  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
Misao heard something........strange coming from behind a door to her left......completely ignoring Omasu, she felt around for the handle. But before she could actually open the door, it was yanked open for her.  
  
"Hey-" she started, but was yanked into the room too quickly to give much of a protest.  
  
"Ah, finally! Someone comes to visit poor lonely me!" a slightly feminine voice squealed. "Now, who are you exactly?"  
  
"Uh......." Misao was confused. Who WAS she talking to anyway? Some psycho freak?  
  
"Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter all that much what your name is....... you did come to visit me....... Howdy there ma'am. I'm Kamatari, the poor lonely guy nobody ever visits."  
  
"Guy?" Misao squeaked.  
  
"Of course honey-chop. Did you think I looked like a woman?"  
  
"Uh......."  
  
"And don't you know that you should look at someone when they're talking to you? I mean, how totally rude......."  
  
"Well......."  
  
"Oh that's RIIIIGGGHHHHTTT! You can't see. Okay, well, I suppose I can make an exception for you then......."  
  
"Okay......."  
  
"Now what's your name again?"  
  
"I never said."  
  
"Oh. Well, tell me anyway. I've got to get to know my fellow co-workers." Kamatari brushed a strand of his hair behind his ears. "Please?" he asked, setting his head in his palm.  
  
"Misao.......But I don't work here."  
  
"What a shame. We could do fine things for you here." He stared at her intensely, his grey eyes darkening slightly. "You're here with that Shinomori character, aren't you?"  
  
"Uhm.......yeah, why?"  
  
"Well, honey-chop, I just don't like that man. He's too quiet for his own good. Nobody knows ANYTHING about him. Where he was born, who his family is.......nothing. It just can't be....... Natural......."  
  
"Oh," she sighed, getting rather annoyed at this man (was he really a man?) who was asking so many questions.  
  
"Were you ever in gymnastics?" he asked, out of nowhere.  
  
"Yes. I'm trained in kempo and martial arts too......."  
  
"Goody!" he grinned, clapping his hands together loudly. "Were you a cheerleader in high school by any chance?"  
  
"No......."  
  
"Ah, that's too bad," he sighed. "You'd be a fine cheerleader. A little short maybe, but you've got the look."  
  
"Blind people don't do things like that."  
  
"C'mon don't be so hard on yourself! Sure they don't, but you could be the first. Think about it. You'd be famous!"  
  
".......I'd rather not be humiliated. Besides, I'm not in school anymore......."  
  
"Not even college? That's too bad......." He 'tsk'd' and twirled a strand of hair around his finger. "Oh well. I used to be a cheerleader way back when!" Stars filled his eyes as he talked about his cheerleading career.  
  
Meanwhile, Misao was too busy trying NOT to picture Kamatari in her head. That was just.......too creepy. He probably closely resembled a clown.  
  
".......But I was the ONLYYY guy on the team and that just sucked! I mean, I never understood why other guys didn't want to wear pink and black if they got to pick up and throw girls every other direction!"  
  
A large sweatdrop made its way down the side of her face. He really was a psycho!  
  
Just then, the door opened loudly, and a panting woman leaned against the inside of the doorframe. "Kama.......tari.......what did I tell you about capturing poor innocent people and torturing them to death?" Omasu scolded, grabbing a hold of Misao's arm. "C'mon, we're gonna be late for lunch if we don't hurry!"  
  
"Thank you thank you thank you thank you," Misao started ranting, the second the newly-disappointed Kamatari's door was shut.  
  
"Come back and visit me soon Honey-chop!" he called.  
  
Misao shuddered. "How long was I in there for? Six, seven hours?"  
  
"One and a half, actually," Omasu informed her. "But ya know, it feels a lot longer than that. Did he tell you all about his cheerleading career?"  
  
"Yeah......." she scowled. "What kind of fruit is he?"  
  
Omasu laughed lightly. "Sometimes, I'm not so sure about that myself......." she pondered. "I think that the whole office's been wondering about that for a long time."  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
"Well now," Hiko grinned over a plate of spaghetti. "I was thinking on something today......."  
  
Aoshi cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"Actually, we were wondering if the two of you would like to go out to dinner Wednesday night with us." Omasu intervened. "It would be sooo much fun!" she squealed lightly, grabbing Misao's hands. "Please tell us you'll both come!"  
  
Misao and Aoshi both looked doubtful.  
  
Aoshi glanced sidelong at Hiko, and saw a gleam in the older man's eyes. It said 'hehe if you don't do what I say, I'll make you regret it from hereon out'.  
  
"Aa.......we'll be there."  
  
"Really?!" Omasu let out a breath. "Super awesome!"  
  
"We'll meet you at the Fiesta Tropical at 6:30pm Wednesday night, okay?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Uhm.......I guess so."  
  
~_+~_+~_++_~+_~+_~  
  
Terribly sorry that this is so short.......-_- I'm tired, and writing just isn't what I feel like doing today.......lol  
  
See ya'll later then I guess.......in a century, when I update.......-_-;; 


	11. OMG I made it back here! hugs computer I...

Sorry ya'll. I feel bad for not updating, but at least it wasn't a century. ^-^x But yeah, here's another uhmmm update. ___ It's not easy for me to actually sit down on my rear and write anymore. XD *points at the school building* I used to be in the habit of writing fanfiction all day- every day, and then school started so I don't do that anymore. ^_^;; Sooooo I'm going to work on fanfiction slowly.  
  
And in answer to a lot of questions. Yes, I will continue the rest of my fics (I think. ^_^;;;;). And whoever whined about me not continuing "Little is Much" .go suck a straw. Would you rather I left it sitting there and not finished it?? Grrrr I handed it over to RoseKurama1 who's currently making it shorter and switching the plot a little. Since you're so upset about me deleting it- go read the revamped version, and stop crying... -_-;;  
  
Comments? Email them to Sango@kaxy.com please. =P I have my own forum now. Hehe.go there if you want. You can reach it from my profile. =)  
  
Dedicated To: Verito-chan, who threatened to smite me early this week in a friendly way, if I didn't update. ^_______^ Thanks girl! Do it again if I fail to update soon enough. ^_^;; Can't wait to see an update to your fic!! It rocks!  
  
And also dedicated to: Neal, thanks so much for so nicely telling me to get off my lazy butt to write something more. ^_______^ *hugs you* I appreciate it! And be sure to threaten me if I don't update sooner! ^-^x Love you!  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
'[i]Why am I doing this, again? Somebody tell me...[/i]' Misao thought, sulking all the way home. This whole FBI thing was silly. 'It's probably not even the FBI,' she thought smugly. 'It's probably some silly group of ½ grown men who WISH that they could be a part of the FBI...'  
  
She sunk down in her seat, closing her eyes. It wasn't like there was anything to look at anyway.  
  
The car rumbled lightly down the freeway, and Misao remembered when she was really little, and had tried to count all of the white dashed lines in the road.  
  
"Why?" she asked nobody in particular.  
  
".Excuse me?" a deep voice asked confusedly from beside her.  
  
"Oops." she colored instantly. "I didn't know I'd said that out loud. It's nothing, really it isn't anything important."  
  
Aoshi didn't say another word. "Dinner tomorrow," he stated simply.  
  
'He knows.' she wondered. "How'd you know?"  
  
He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. "I just did."  
  
"Oh." She sat in silence for a minute before her talkative self popped out a statement. "You know. You could NOT be holding that steering wheel, and I wouldn't ever know it."  
  
"Aa." Aoshi answered after some thought.  
  
"Well, until the crash that is. Then I would know for sure! I'd be all crappy-feeling again. Car crashes just suck."  
  
".Really.? I wouldn't know."  
  
"Yeah! First, you're driving along all happy-like, and then WHAM! You hit a tree. You realize one second too late that you could have turned the wheel slightly to the left and avoided it all.you scream a minute too late.and you realize a minute too late that there's blood pouring down the side of your head." She shook her head vehemently. "I don't want to be in another car crash.thank you very much." She sighed lightly and opened her eyes, just because she could. There was no reason.  
  
Maybe it was to see- again- if maybe perhaps.in the few minutes her eyes were closed.that the sky WAS blue like she thought she remembered, what the interior of the car looked like, and what she was wearing.  
  
"You know." she started slowly to her near-silent companion. "Every morning, when I open my eyes, I do it slowly."  
  
She stopped there, letting her words penetrate through his mind.  
  
"Why?" he asked simply, turning on his turn signal a few seconds before curving around a wide corner.  
  
"I hope."  
  
She ceased her speech there, not really wanting to say everything just yet.  
  
They reached Aoshi's home without any more conversation between the two. Misao fumbled with her seatbelt for awhile, but she still managed to open it up to enable herself to step from the car.  
  
The door opened for her before she could even reach for the handle. She stepped from the car and mumbled a Thank You to Aoshi; waiting for him to take her arm to help her into the house.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
It was four o'clock Wednesday night.the night of the date, and Misao was shuffling her feet nervously. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" she asked, twisting her hands.  
  
"Aa." Aoshi said calmly, going through a rack of clothes.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
".Yes."  
  
"Oh." she moved her feet around. "If I don't match, I'll kill you."  
  
Aoshi stopped shuffling through the clothes, resisting the urge to roll his eyes skyward. Of all the silly questions.  
  
His hands stopped on a long turquoise colored formal dress with spaghetti straps. "Perfect," he said, nearly inaudible.  
  
"I certainly hope so," Misao said cockily. "Or I'll have to murder you in your sleep."  
  
"Here then," he said, handing her a stack of clothes. "Get a shower and get dressed. We've got an hour."  
  
"Yes sir," she said sarcastically, feeling her way down the halls.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
40 minutes later.  
  
"Did you drown?" Aoshi asked from the outside of the bathroom door, in a monotone.  
  
"No." a frustrated voice said, and a ripping sound could be heard. "Ah shoot, not again!" A shuffling sound could be heard, and then a thump. "My hair hates me!" Misao wailed.  
  
Aoshi wondered just what Misao had done to her hair.murdered it, perhaps?  
  
"Are you dressed?" he asked slowly.  
  
"Yeah yeah, just hating my hair.maybe I should chop it all off just so I don't have to deal with it."  
  
"No." Aoshi said slowly, opening the door tentatively.  
  
"What? Why not?" she pouted. "It wouldn't be so annoying then."  
  
"No, I mean." he waved his hand around, looking for words. "I can fix it." He looked critically at her mused wet hair.  
  
"Really??" she asked hopefully. "You're not going to make me look like a dork now are you? And if you give me pigtails, I'll do serious damage to your kneecaps."  
  
"I see.no I won't make you look like a ...dork..."  
  
"Cool!" she grinned, feeling around on the floor for her dirty clothes. "Now where did I put them.?" She wondered aloud, moving her hands across the chilly tile.  
  
Aoshi coughed and handed her a dry towel and her dirty clothes. "Dry your hair. I'll be out in a minute."  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
"A minute huh?" Misao mumbled from the kitchen table. "A minute, he says. I'll bet it's been two hours and now we're late. HEYYY! YOU DIDN'T DRRROOOWWWWNNNNN NOW DID YOU???!"  
  
An echo went through the house. "Hmph." Her thoughts turned to other things. Like.how did Aoshi know how to do hair? 'Maybe he went to school to be a hair-stylist.' she snickered to herself. 'Or maybe even a cosmetologist!'  
  
"No.I did not drown." Aoshi said slowly, walking into the room buttoning his shirt up.  
  
"Darn," she said, snapping her fingers.  
  
"..."  
  
"It was a joke," she said, laughing lightly.  
  
"..."  
  
"You know, J, O, K, E? Joke?"  
  
"...I see."  
  
She sighed. "Whatever. Just get this over with."  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
Twenty minutes later.  
  
"You're not putting my hair in pigtails, are you??  
  
"No."  
  
"Okay." Misao fidgeted, biting on her bottom lip. "Are you done yet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"How about now?"  
  
"...No."  
  
"Now?"  
  
"...No..."  
  
"Oh, okay."  
  
It sure was fun annoying him.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
"What is it?" Misao asked, lightly touching her hair. "I can't tell."  
  
"You don't know?" Aoshi asked dubiously.  
  
"Uhmmm.nope."  
  
"Have you ever had your hair in a French braid before?"  
  
"Noooo.is that what this is? It feels cool. But aren't you supposed to weave the bangs in there too?" She trailed her hand down the braid behind her, remembering just how long her hair really was. It was coiled on the seat behind her.  
  
"Looks better with them down," he answered simply, glancing at the clock. "It's 6:00, and takes 15 minutes to get there."  
  
"The Fiesta Tropical?"  
  
"Aa. get your things together. We've leaving in five."  
  
She pouted. "Okay okay.what am I supposed to take?"  
  
"A purse?" he suggested.  
  
"Don't have anything to put in it."  
  
"Then how about you put on some shoes?" he suggested, handing her a pair of black sandaled heels.  
  
"Oh." she colored, embarrassed. "I guess I could do that."  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
"These shoes don't feel right." she complained, sitting in the front passenger seat.  
  
"That's because they're on backwards."  
  
"Ohhhh! This isn't fair!!" she scowled and tried taking them off to switch. "Stupid straps!"  
  
"Here," Aoshi sighed and leaned over the seat to switch her shoes.  
  
"This sucks," she mumbled, getting upset at having to be helped around ever corner. She closed her eyes to keep from crying. "I hate this."  
  
"I know," Aoshi told her calmly. "I know."  
  
'How?!' Misao wanted to ask, but she didn't particularly want to ruin the evening for Aoshi. She had to make a better impression on his boss and his secretary. And she didn't want to make Aoshi look bad.  
  
Aoshi started the car and drove down the driveway.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
"What exactly is the Fiesta Tropical?" Misao asked finally, tired of the silence. Whoever said that silence was golden must have either been either...  
  
Demented Had no social life  
Or... Lived in a very noisy house  
  
"A Mexican restaurant."  
  
"Mexican?" Misao wondered. Now WHY was she wearing a nice dress to a Mexican restaurant.?  
  
"It's a nice restaurant.and you might say that Hiko is." he shook his head, trying to come up with something that didn't sound immature. "Mexican-food obsessed."  
  
"Ohhhhkkkaaayyyyy..." Misao said slowly. "Are the waiters and everything Spanish?!"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Can I try something on them?  
  
"...What?"  
  
"Well.you know that Spanish sauce.pico de gallo?"  
  
"Aa..."  
  
"Well, in high school Spanish, a girl in my class figured out that pico means beak, and gallo means rooster. So it must mean 'rooster beak sauce'."  
  
"And what does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"I want to ask for rooster beak sauce."  
  
Aoshi shook his head. ~HELP!!!~ his brain yelled. "No..."  
  
"Okay," she shrugged. "I thought so."  
  
A few minutes later.  
  
"El puerco."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The pig. Hmmm...la vaca."  
  
"...."  
  
"Cow. And batir los juevos is 'beat the eggs'. Ahh good old Spanish class!"  
  
"I see."  
  
"No you don't."  
  
"You're right. I don't."  
  
"And probably never will. Tonto."  
  
"..."  
  
"Stupid. But I was just kidding. Las botas grandes." She waited a minute. "The big boots." After thinking, she rambled off. "La chaqueta rosado. Fuego rosado. The pink jacket. Hot pink." When Aoshi didn't say anything, she shut up. For a second anyway. Before long, she was singing the Spanish alphabet.  
  
"A, B, C, Ch, D, E, F, H, I, J, K, L, Ll M, N, Ñ, O, P, Q, R, rr, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z! Now.how about numbers? Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, seite ocho nueve dies, once, doce, trece, catorce, quince..."  
  
"You like Spanish?"  
  
"No. Spanish class is just ingrained into my brain."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
Finally, after what seemed like hours (to Aoshi at least) they pulled into the modest parking lot of the Fiesta Tropical. It took Aoshi a few minutes to find a parking space, but finally, a car pulled out, and he intercepted it before the disappointed driver of a Camero could take it.  
  
He escorted her inside, and in turn, they were escorted to their table. Hiko and Omasu hadn't arrived just yet.  
  
"They're not here yet," Aoshi murmured lightly, helping Misao into her seat before taking his own.  
  
"Are they late?" Misao asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the silence in the Mexican restaurant. She started to fidget slowly, wishing she could look around and see what the walls looked like.  
  
Aoshi, on the other hand, started to look around the yellow-walled restaurant. The walls were painted a bright yellow, with scenery painted decoratively. He almost choked when he spotted a strange picture on the wall right beside him.  
  
"What is it?" Misao asked boredly, wondering when Hiko and Omasu were actually going to show up.  
  
"A painting."  
  
"What is it of?" Misao asked eagerly, hoping for something to talk about. Besides, if she couldn't look around the restaurant herself- she wanted it described to her.  
  
"A monkey sitting on a tomato." Aoshi said calmly.  
  
"A monkey...on a tomato..." Misao said slowly. "Okaaayyyy...That's just freaky."  
  
"I'm inclining to agree."  
  
"Cool. What other paintings are there?"  
  
"They're actually just painted on the wall, but there is. one of a pineapple, a taco, some ivy and leaves, palm branches, piñata's... and some Mexicans dancing."  
  
"Are they nice-looking?"  
  
"..No."  
  
"Okay. So I'm not missing much, huh?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Ahhh!" Hiko's booming voice said from across the room. "C'mon Julio! Get some Spanish Fiesta music going! This place is getting dim!"  
  
"Sí Señor! I agree! I will do that right away then!"  
  
Omasu rushed over and took a seat beside Misao. "We're sooo sorry that we're late! And it's all my fault! I had to make sure everything was just.perfect. And I switched clothes four times. I hope I don't look too silly."  
  
"Nonsense!" Hiko assured her. "You look absolutely gorgeous! Red suits you well. Misao, I'm telling you... She looks gorgeous! A short red evening dress. Beautiful!"  
  
Misao rolled her eyes mentally, and Aoshi coughed.  
  
"Misao dear! You look ravishing!"  
  
"Ravishing?" Misao raised an eyebrow. "Riiiggghhhttt."  
  
"No I'm serious!" Omasu insisted. "Turquoise suits you sooo well! And who did your hair! It's soo lovely! It matches your personality just right!"  
  
Aoshi sighed, and put his head in his hands. 'Please don't tell her I did that, please don't tell her I did that...'  
  
"Well...actually....you might not believe it, but..."  
  
'Drat,' Aoshi thought, cringing mentally.  
  
Misao paused to think. What if Aoshi's boss didn't know about his 'hair- stylin' .maybe it'd be best to lie then... "I did it. I used to do my hair like this all the time when I was a kid. It took me a few tries, but Aoshi as very kind and pointed it out when I'd messed up."  
  
"Good job Aoshi! Now THAT'S how a gentleman acts!" Omasu beamed.  
  
"Yes yes, good thinking Aoshi!" Hiko grinned. "I'm sounding like a parent again."  
  
"Do you have any kids Sir-Hiko?" Misao asked, catching her mistake.  
  
"Nope, never been married, and I have no kids either. Always wanted two though.a boy and a girl. But I'm getting too old for that!" he laughed, his voice slightly strained, but it could have fooled anyone but Misao. She noticed right away.  
  
"Then why don't you marry your girlfriend?"  
  
"What girlfriend?" Omasu asked, instantly jealous.  
  
"Yeah, what girlfriend?" Hiko wondered.  
  
"A girlfriend?" Aoshi raised an eyebrow.  
  
"You know, Omasu over here... I assumed that the two of you were, going out or something...since you guys..."  
  
"What? Finish please." Hiko asked.  
  
"You two flirt so much and everything..." Misao blushed in embarrassment.  
  
Omasu giggled. "We do? Since when? Not that I mind anything, it's just.I had no idea!" She leaned over to Misao and whispered in her ear "I had no idea that I was so obvious!"  
  
"Flirt?" Aoshi inwardly smirked. His boss was just being accused of 'flirting' with his secretary.  
  
"I didn't mean it in a bad way, I just you know, thought that-I'm sorry..."  
  
"It's fine!" Hiko assured her. "Now let's go get some nice Mexican food!"  
  
"Excuse me, sir..." A middle-aged man tapped Aoshi on the shoulder. "Uhm... I noticed you over there... Before that other couple came to join you, you were explaining your surrounding to her, am I right?" the man smiled, his eyes twinkling. He held the hand of a little girl with bright green eyes.  
  
"Aa...I was."  
  
"I just had to tell you that I think that that is the nicest thing I've ever seen... Since she can't see... I knew the second I saw her, how her eyes were slightly not there..." He gave a gentle smile, picking up his daughter and balancing her on his hip. "You must love your wife a lot...to be so gentle with her like that. My daughter here...her name is Katriana... She's blind...born that way. I hope that someday, she meets someone as caring as you. Thank you for the inspiration in life. I was afraid that my baby girl would grow up and never be married, but now... I feel better about her future. Thank you so much." He smiled again and left, his daughter saying "Bye-bye nice man!" over her daddy's shoulder.  
  
"But-" Aoshi started, shaking his head. Misao was not his wife. Not even close actually... But whatever. It wasn't worth arguing about.  
  
"So you didn't deny it, huh Aoshi...?" Hiko grinned and waggled his eyebrows comically.  
  
Omasu giggled and reached for a churro sitting on the plate in the middle of the table.  
  
Misao was blushing furiously, but wouldn't have admitted it to anyone.  
  
"You know you wish it was true..hehe," Hiko teased.  
  
"C'mon Hiko, don't tease poor Aoshi...leave him alone.."  
  
"Let's go Omasu, let's go get some food!" Hiko grinned. "Oh. And Aoshi... Don't forget to get your lovely wife some food too.." He left, winking over his shoulder.  
  
If Aoshi were alone, he would have been able to bang his head against a table without anyone noticing. But here- in this crowded restaurant (now playing fiesta music) that wasn't the best of ideas.  
  
He opted for waiting for another time to bang his head on something.  
  
Like maybe as soon as he could leave.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
"Finally!" Misao sighed, pulling her seatbelt together. "Not to be mean to your boss and his girlfriend, but.." She pushed the two ends together of the belt together in vain. "Silly thing," she grumbled. "Anyway, that was..interesting to say the least."  
  
"Aa.." Aoshi said, reaching over to turn the buckle around. "Like that," he told her, letting her fasten it herself. He was sure that she didn't want to feel helpless again.  
  
"We're going to make one stop before going home." Aoshi informed her.  
  
"Okay..." She leaned her head back against the headrest and yawned. "It won't take long, will it?"  
  
"Iie. it will not."  
  
Ten minutes later, Aoshi pulled into a parking lot that was dimmed, except for a few cars and a few rays of light that were coming from the inside of the building.  
  
"Do you think that I could maybe stay here..?" Misao asked.  
  
"Aa. You can. I will return shortly."  
  
A few minutes later, Aoshi came back out of the building and opened the back seat of the car.  
  
"What'd you do?" Misao asked, hearing a funny sound. "Get a bicycle horn?"  
  
"No. I just picked up something for you."  
  
"Really!? What is it?? And thank you!"  
  
"You'll find out soon enough," he said, shutting the car door and going around to his own side.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
Hey!! How was that?!?! Was that better than previously?!? I'm proud to say that that up there is 11 pages long! WooT! I'm so happy that I actually was motivated to write it!!  
  
What do you suppose is in that backseat?? If you can get it, I'll dedicate the next chapter to you, I swear! And no hints. Heh. Do you think Misao will like it?  
  
Here's all the questions you can answer if you want. Just cause I'm bored now and lazy too. ^-^x  
  
What's in the backseat?  
  
Will Misao like what Aoshi got her?  
  
Did this chapter suck?  
  
Will you rate this story/chapter on a scale of 1-100 like the old Inuyasha stories I used to write?  
  
Will I ever write another Inuyasha story like I've been asked?  
  
Should I write another one?  
  
Should I hit myself with a blunt object?  
  
Should I update sooner next time?  
  
Were you reading my fics when I asked people to rate it on a scale of 1- 10/1-100??  
  
Do you like Inuyasha?  
  
Would you read an Inuyasha fic if I wrote a one-shot?  
  
Should I run into a brick wall?  
  
Are you answering these?  
  
Am I psycho? (yes)  
  
Are you glad that I updated?  
  
Do you know why I'm writing all these dorky questions?  
  
Do you think I should update the final version of SCD? (Misao's version)  
  
Should I hit you with a blunt object for not reading this?  
  
Should I hit you with a blunt object for not answering my dorky questions?  
  
Should I go away and leave ya'll alone to review in peace and quiet?  
  
Okay, I'm going now. ^_^x Pleaseeeeeeeeee review!! If I get 15 more, you can bet there'll be a new chapter up next Saturday! (maybe not this long though) *holds up a picket sign* MAKE TRANSCENDING A DYNASTY UPDATE!!  
  
Transcending a Dynasty By: Jadewing "Inuyasha" go read it. It's the best AU Inuyasha fic out there that actually updates. I want more tho! More! More! (I'm so greedy) *feels ashamed*  
  
Goodbye!  
  
::pawprints::  
  
Kitten Kisses- "Sango" 


	12. Chapter 12! x I promised, and here it is...

OMG! I'm sooo happy with all the reviews I've received for this story!! ^- ^x So I figured that ya'll deserve another update! =^.^=  
  
Dedication:: To Satunkj and Tenken no Miko! *grins widely* Satunkj was closest, but Tenken no Miko was definitely in 2nd as far as guesses go. =P  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Dedicated To:: All of my wonderful reviews of course!! ^-^x  
  
Disclaimer:: Have I owned it up until now? That's what I thought. _  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
Misao fidgeted. "Please?" she asked.  
  
"...No."  
  
Misao pouted. "Darn. Well, when will I find out what it is?"  
  
"...Any time now, I suspect."  
  
"Oohhhh..." She brightened. "Okay!"  
  
A few minutes later, something touched her elbow and she jumped in her seat. "Eep! What's that?" she asked Aoshi nervously.  
  
"Nothing dangerous," he answered, tempted to grin- but he wouldn't let himself do something so...unlike himself.  
  
"Uhmmmm..okay.." she said, laughing a little. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Aa...why don't you feel around with your hands?" he suggested.  
  
"...Alright," she answered, running her hands around in the seat behind her. Slowly, her expression changed to a wide grin as her hand ran across a furry surface. "I know what it is," she informed him. "Boy or girl?"  
  
"Girl," he answered.  
  
"Cool." She grinned and continued running her hand over the furry surface. "For me? Why?"  
  
"Well," he answered, pulling into his driveway. "My mother used to have a dog... He helped her a lot."  
  
"Oh..." she acknowledged. "You mother sounds like a very nice woman..."  
  
"She is."  
  
Misao smiled. "Is she already named?"  
  
"No, you get the privilege of naming her."  
  
"Sweet! Lemme think... What's her breed?"  
  
"Shetland Sheepdog," he told her. "She's dainty, and has white, brown, dark brown, and light brown markings on her, and a white star-shaped mark on her forehead."  
  
"Akina," she said, nodding. "Can I call her Akina?"  
  
He shrugged. "Whatever you wish to call her."  
  
Misao blinked. "Okay then, Akina she is. Is she just a regular dog, or a seeing-eye dog?"  
  
"Just a regular dog."  
  
"Good." Misao sounded happy. "I don't need a DOG to help me around the house. I'm fine on my own. Now...company seems nice."  
  
"And a watchdog," Aoshi muttered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing. It wasn't important. Here," he said, opening the back door. "Let me take her. After I get her inside, I'll come and get you."  
  
After Aoshi left, Misao scowled. She wasn't totally helpless! She could get inside the house on her own. She stepped from the car and slammed the front passenger door behind her.  
  
She scuffed her feet slowly on the tarred drive, making her way up to the house. By scuffing her feet on the tar, she would immediately know if she ended up in the grass.  
  
She put her hands out in front of her, feeling for the house. When she made contact with the smooth boards, she ran them down the length of the house looking for the front door. Just as her hands ran into contact with the door, the screen door swung outward, knocking her flat on her backside.  
  
"Hey now!" she protested, pushing herself up. "That wasn't very nice."  
  
"I told you to stay in the car," he informed her, not feeling very sorry for her. "Your own fault."  
  
"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "At least I found my way to the door without ...TOO much trouble."  
  
"Don't roll your eyes," he told her.  
  
"I didn't!" she protested. "It's just your imagination."  
  
Aoshi sighed. The night would be long- he could tell.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
Aoshi chuckled evilly, holding Akina with one hand, he opened Misao's bedroom door. "On three," he told the dog, grasping the clip on her leash. "One... two... Three.." he unclipped the leash and watched the little sheltie jump onto Misao's bed.  
  
The dog pushed her onto the ground, completely disorientating the blind girl. With her little pink tongue, Akina cleaned all traces of sleep from Misao's face. "Ewww..." Misao said. "Dog germs!"  
  
Just then, something got Aoshi from behind.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
Aoshi woke up to find himself sprawled all over his bedroom floor. "What?" he wondered to himself, remembering the dream. "What a stupid dream," he mumbled, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.  
  
Yawning, he went to the kitchen to make toast.  
  
Akina heard Aoshi coming and jumped up from her spot on the kitchen floor- intent on some fun. She ran under the half-asleep Aoshi's feet, confusing him so that he stepped off-balance.  
  
And poor sleep-deprived Aoshi (who had strange dreams) went tumbling to the ground.  
  
Akina pounced on him and started licking his face.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
The crash awoke Misao who jumped a million feet in her bed. She tumbled from her bed, ending up on her head on the floor.  
  
Rubbing her head, she pulled herself up and eventually found her way into the hallway. "The crash came from the kitchen," she noted, feeling her way down the walls.  
  
When she reached the kitchen, she stepped cautiously inside, noticing the sound of Akina scampering around on the floor.  
  
"Akina," Misao said softly. "C'mere girl!"  
  
Akina halted, but didn't come. "Fine, I'll go to you," Misao said, scowling. She stepped forward, stepping right on something hard and bony.  
  
"That was my foot," Aoshi said loudly.  
  
Misao jumped. "That hurt!" she exclaimed. "You have a BONY foot!"  
  
Aoshi sighed. "Whatever. I'm covered in dog spit."  
  
"Why's that?" Misao teased. "Been rolling around with the dog?"  
  
Aoshi chose not to comment on that.  
  
Just then, a medium-sized ball of brown-and-white hurtled itself into Misao, sending her sprawling on the floor, right beside Aoshi.  
  
"Attack of the spring flower," Misao said dryly, being licked to death.  
  
"I think it's funny," Aoshi told her, standing up. "What would you like for breakfast?"  
  
"You cook?" Misao wondered. "Wow, not many guys can cook. I used to be able to cook- back when I could see the stove." She pushed her way off the floor (again) and smoothed her pajamas back into place. "Bad Akina," she scolded fakely. "You messed up my pj bottoms. Now they're all wrinkly."  
  
Akina just panted and sat at Misao's feet.  
  
Misao felt around for a stool at the island. Finally, she found something that felt like a stool, and she sat down. "For some reason," she stated simply. "This doesn't feel much like a stool."  
  
"Misao," Aoshi said, amusement coming to his eyes. "That's the vegetable sink."  
  
She sighed. "I thought as much. Uhmmm can I get some help here? I think I'm stuck."  
  
"Aa, of course." He grabbed onto her hands and pulled.  
  
"Hey that hurts!" she complained. "Don't pull so hard!" iHe has strong hands.../i she noticed.  
  
He braced his feet against the wall and pulled again.  
  
And again.  
  
And again.  
  
"One more time," Aoshi panted. "I'll be late for work."  
  
He grasped a hold of her left ankle and left arm in one hand, and her right hand and ankle in the other. "On three," he told her. "One, two.... three!" he yanked and Misao came flying out of the low-sitting sink, smacking right into Aoshi and sending him tumbling to the floor just as the kitchen door flew open.  
  
Hiko stood in the doorway, eyes wide. "I knew I should have knocked, I knew I should have knocked," he repeated, covering his eyes. "SORRY!"  
  
He turned around, swinging the door shut behind him, Omasu standing wide eyed behind him.  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
Ha ha ha ha ha.I'm so terribly evil- but I couldn't resist! =^.^= It's the evil kitty-cat inside of me. =P  
  
I already have a reason for Hiko to be there.hehe and a new development to come in next chapter (I think ^_^) I just have to remember them for next chapter.  
  
I've finished the plot for a new AU Inuyasha fic- but just a story-line. I think that if I map out my stories from now on by chapter- they'll be easier to finish. Haha, "Destruction Derby Sango" *smiles widely* Anyone like this crazy idea? ^-^;; Be on the lookout for it late this week if you do! ^_^x  
  
If I get 134 reviews for this chapter, I'll have another chapter up by next Saturday. ^_^  
  
I would have had this chapter out earlier, but I was sick all week (And all last week and I still am -_-) and my Internet was/is down.._ Ehhh how annoying. *kicks her Internet* .  
  
Please review! I'd really really love that! ^______^ (you will too if I update soon again! ^_^ Reviews and promises are what keeps me going! I hate breaking promises..)  
  
::Pawprints::  
  
BTW:: Akina means Spring Flower. ^_^ Thanks for the name Amber!! Hehe, I stole your nickname it's just too cute, I couldn't help it. ^_^ 


	13. Chapter 13, help please P

Kawaii, huh? XD I guess that was the basic response....lol ^-^;; Ahhh...okay then. ^-^x  
  
Where did you get the idea that Hiko was gay? I'm very very confused........@_____@ Hiko's not gay.......just strange. =P  
  
Chapter 13  
  
Disclaimer:: I don't own Aoshi or Misao.*pulls out a tissue*  
  
~_+~_++_~+_~  
  
(the urge...it's overwhelming! I HAVE TO MAKE Aoshi SAY IT!!!)  
  
"Aiyaiyai..." Aoshi covered his face.  
  
"Oops," Misao said quickly, jumping to her feet. "It's okay, you can come in it's not like we were doing anything!" she rambled.  
  
"Oh goody!" Omasu almost busted the door down yanking it open again. "I see that your relationship is pulling along fine!" she beamed, proud of herself.  
  
Hiko crept in slowly. "Are you sure it's safe?" he asked slowly.  
  
Omasu, seeing Misao's blushing face, grinned further. "Anyway, we've come for a reason!"  
  
"Other than embarrassing us?" Misao asked quietly.  
  
"Heh.heh..." Hiko sweatdropped. "Actually, the bathrooms at work overflowed....... No work. So I figured we could have some fun and go out together as a group! Whaddaya say?"  
  
Akina jumped up and yipped, wagging her tail to her own internal rhythm. Omasu grinned down at the dog. "Ohhhhhhhhh!! She's so CUTE!" she squealed, patting the furry animal's head. Akina tried to look cute.  
  
The common animal philosophy- if you look cute, they'll feed you.  
  
"Uhmm........sure," Misao agreed. "But what could we do?"  
  
"Well," Omasu said, petting Akina. "I was thinking a picnic might be kind of fun. In the park downtown."  
  
"Oh that does sound fun!" Misao agreed. "But what would we pack?"  
  
"I know!" Hiko piped up loudly, listing food on his fingers. "Fried chicken, potato salad, more fried chicken, some drinks, some more-"  
  
"Okay Hiko, I think we understand!" Omasu laughed, rolling her eyes. "Come on Misao!" she urged the younger girl. "Let's go start cooking! We could be out of here by at least 11!"  
  
The two scampered off while Hiko and Aoshi went to sit in the living room.  
  
"I didn't really want to go.......anywhere," Aoshi informed Hiko.  
  
"Oh come on! Where's your spirit? You were just going to let Misao sit here all day without anything to do? She's blind Aoshi. She needs something to keep her occupied. Watching television won't work. Listening to the radio gets tiring. And she can't read. She needs to be outside! Besides, you're supposed to be protecting her."  
  
"Aa........maybe you are right......." Aoshi shrugged.  
  
~^*_~^*_~^*_+_*^~_*^~_*^~  
  
Alright you guys, I'm totally screwed on this story. I have no idea what to write, and after over a month sitting her at my computer, I can't come up with anything else to write. -_- I'm rather hoping you all can help me with ideas. I'll consider any ideas you guys can come up with. =)  
  
Sorry I really need help, as you can tell. Email me at Sango@ratrunner.com or leave a review. I'll be sure to read and consider everything. Oh- I need things for them to do while on their picnic. Or their outing could be changed, or whatever. Just please please please help me out! T_T;; I most likely won't update for a long time, unless a sudden burst of inspiration comes to me. *sighs*  
  
-Pawprints and Apologies-  
  
~Kitten Kisses 


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